THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

ST       THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT 


LAST  TIMES. 


AN  EARNEST  DISCUSSION  OF  MOMENTOUS  THEMES, 


J.   A.   SEISS,  A.M. 


-AUTHOR     OF 

"LECTURES  ON  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS,"  "BAPTIST  SYSTEM  EXAMINED,' 

AND  PASTOR  OF  THE  LOMBARD  STREET  LUTHERAN  CHURCH, 

BALTIMORE,   Ms. 


BALTIMORE: 
PUBLISHED  BY  T.  NEWTON  KURTZ, 

No.  151  W  E  S  T    PRATT    STREET. 

1859. 


Kntcrcd  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1856,  by 
JOSEPH    A.    SEISS, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  in  and  for  the 
District  of  Maryland. 

STEREOTYPED  BY    L.   JOHNSON  &   CO. 
PHILADELPHIA. 


PREFACE. 


THIS  book  treats  of  the  future  destiny  of  the 
world  and  its  population,  as  revealed  in  the  holy 
prophecies.  It  is  designed  to  awaken  attention  to 
a  subject  too  little  appreciated  and  too  much  neg- 
lected by  modern  professors  of  Christianity.  The 
views  which  it  presents  are  not  in  entire  harmony 
with  prevailing  impressions  and  popular  prejudices ; 
but  they  are  the  honest  convictions  produced  by 
faithful  study,  uttered  under  a  full  sense  of  the  re- 
sponsibility involved.  The  writer  believes  them  to 
be  entitled  to  sober,  candid  and  careful  considera- 
tion. If  he  is  correct  in  his  apprehensions  of  the 
divine  word,  it  is  high  time  that  people  should  have 
every  facility  to  inform  themselves  upon  the  sub- 
ject. If  he  is  mistaken,  it  is  well  worth  the  while 
of  wiser  heads  to  furnish  the  church  with  the  evi- 
dences of  it;  for  the  leading  doctrines  of  this  dis- 
cussion have  the  sanction  of  high  authorities,  and 
are  being  more  and  more  believed  by  devout  mec 
of  earnest  hearts  and  eloquent  tongues. 


4  PREFACE. 

The  author  of.  this  volume  does  not  presume  to 
speak  for  his  church,  or  for  any  party,  but  only  for 
himself.  Nevertheless,  he  is  happy  to  he  ahle  to 
say  that  he  speaks  with  Justin  Martyr,  Irenseus, 
Tertullian,  and  all  the  great  divines  of  the  first  ages 
after  Christ,  as  well  as  with  many  of  the  greatest 
lights  of  Protestant  Christendom.  And  if  he  is  to 
be  censured  or  condemned  for  what  he  has  here 
ventured  to  affirm,  the  church  of  Christ  itself,  in  the 
purest  and  brightest  periods  of  its  history,  and  in 
some  of  its  most  illustrious  worthies,  must  also  be 
censured  and  condemned. 

To  appreciate  this  book,  it  is  necessary  that  all  of 
it  should  be  read,  and  in  the  order  in  which  it  is 
presented.  Its  force  is  cumulative.  Each  part 
enters  into  the  support  of  all  the  parts,  and  in  its 
place  contributes  to  the  general  conclusions  of  the 
whole.  It  is  only  by  attention  to  this  fact  that  the 
reader  can  do  justice  to  the  author,  to  the  subject, 
or  to  himself. 

Hoping,  then,  that  this  production  may  not  fail  of 
its  design,  and  that  it  may  meet  the  expectations  of 
those  who  have  manifested  so  much  anxiety  for  its 
publication,  the  author  sends  it  forth  to  live  or  die 
as  Providence  and  a  candid  public  may  determine. 

BALTIMORE,  MD.,  July,  1856. 


TABLE   OP   CONTENTS. 


FIRST  DISCOURSE. 

PAGE 
THE     SUBJECT    PROPOUNDED THE    TWENTY-FOURTH    CHAPTER    OF 

MATTHEW     APPLIED  CHRIST'S      PERSONAL      RETURN      TO     THE 

EARTH    PROVEN THE    INTENSE    IMPORTANCE    OF    THE    THEME....          9 

SECOND  DISCOURSE. 

HOW  CHRIST'S  COMING  is  RELATED  TO  OTHER  EVENTS — THE  MIL- 
LENNIUM  WRONG  VIEWS   CORRECTED THE   FINAL  ADVENT   PBE- 

MILLENNIAL — THE    POINT  ARGUED 36 

THIRD   DISCOURSE. 

THE  GLORIOUS  RESTITUTION — BELIEVED  IN  AND  TAUGHT  BY  THE 

HEATHEN  AND  JEWS THIS  WORLD  NOT  TO   BE  DEPOPULATED 

OR  ANNIHILATED WHAT   IS   MEANT   BY  "THE   END   OF  THE 

WORLD" — THE  LAST  CONFLAGRATION  —  THE  WHOLE  TERRES- 
TRIAL SYSTEM  OF  THINGS  TO  BE  DELIVERED  FROM  THE  CURSE 
OF  SIN 62 

1*  5 


6  CONTENTS. 

FOURTH  DISCOURSE. 

PAGE 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  RESURRECTION ERRONEOUS  INTERPRE- 
TATIONS OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CHAPTER  OF  THE  REVELATION 
REFUTED  —  THE  FIRST  RESURRECTION  —  WHAT  THE  ANCIENT 

JEWS    TAUGHT    UPON    THE    SUBJECT CITATIONS    FROM    THE    OLD 

PROPHETS  —  HOW     THE     MATTER,    IS     PRESENTED     IN     THE     NEW 
TESTAMENT  —  THE    SUBLIME    HOPES    INVOLVED 88 

FIFTH   DISCOURSE. 

THE  MESSIAH'S  KINGDOM  —  HOW  SPOKEN  OF  BY  THE  ANCIENT 
PROPHETS HOW  APPREHENDED  BY  THE  SAVIOR'S  CONTEMPO- 
RARIES—  HOW  SPOKEN  OF  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT — SPECIFI- 
CALLY CONNECTED  WITH  THE  SECOND  ADVENT THE  PRESENT 

DISPENSATION  NOT  THE  MESSIAH'S  GLORIOUS  REIGN 112 

SIXTH  DISCOURSE. 

THE  JUDGMENT  —  SCRIPTURAL  IDEA  OF  A  JUDGE  —  THE  DAY  OF 
JUDGMENT  NOT  AN  ORDINARY  DAY  OF  TWENTY-FOUR  HOURS  — 
THE  JUDGMENT  PROGRESSIVE  —  CONNECTION  OF  THE  JUDGMENT 
WITH  THE  MILLENNIAL  REIGN — IS  THE  EXECUTION  OF  ADJUDI- 
CATIONS ALREADY  GOING  ON — HOW  IT  WILL  BE  INTRODUCED 
ADMONITIONS  TO  THE  CARELESS 137 

SEVENTH    DISCOURSE. 

THE  ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  THE  JUDGMENT,  WITH  RESPECT  TO 
THE  DEAD,  WITH  RESPECT  TO  THE  LIVING  —  THE  UNSANCTI- 
FIED  LIVING  TO  BE  JUDGED  NATIONALLY  AT  THE  SECOND  AD- 
VENT— TUB  RESULTS  OF  THESE  NATIONAL  JUDGMENTS...  ,.  160 


CONTENTS. 


EIGHTH  DISCOURSE. 

PAGE 
THE     RESTORATION     OF     THE     JEWS  —  OBJECTIONS     ANSWERED  — 

NEW    TESTAMENT   ALLUSIONS    TO   THE    SUBJECT  —  ANCIENT    PRO- 
PHECIES—  HISTORICAL   FACTS PARTICULARS    EXPLAINED 183 


NINTH  DISCOURSE. 

THE     WORLD     TO     COME ILLUSTRATED    IN    THE     SCENES    OF    THE 

TRANSFIGURATION — THE    BLESSEDNESS    OF    CHRIST'S    PERSONAL 

PRESENCE THE    MINISTRATIONS    OF    THE    GLORIFIED    SAINTS 

THE  ABSENCE  OF  ALL  POWERS  AND  AGENCIES  OF  EVIL  —  THE 
BLESSING  OF  THE  WORLD  THROUGH  ISRAEL — THE  CURSE  RE- 
PEALED   209 


TENTH  DISCOURSE. 

THE   TESTIMONY   OF   THE   CHURCH  —  SUMMARY    OF    OUR    DOCTRINE 

CERINTHUS THE    ANABAPTISTS MILLER IMPROPRIETY    OF 

CLASSING    US     WITH     THESE     PARTIES  —  TRUE     CHURCH    TESTI- 
MONY   BARNABAS CLEMENT PAPIAS JUSTIN     MARTYR 

IRENJEUS  TERTULLIAN CYPRIAN ACKNOWLEDGMENTS      AS 

TO   THE    FAITH    OF    THE    EARLY    CHURCH  —  HOW    MILLENARIAN 
DOCTRINE   WAS    SUPPRESSED^ — ORIGEN'S   SYSTEM  —  REVIVAL   OF 

THE    PRIMITIVE    FAITH  —  LUTHER MELANCTHON THE  FRUITS 

OF    OUR   BELIEF DIFFERENCE    BETWEEN   THE    EARLY   AND   PRE- 
SENT  CHURCH 231 

ELEVENTH  DISCOURSE. 

WHEN     SHALL     CHRIST    COME  ? — THE    TIME    NOT    WHOLLY    A    SE- 
CRET—  RELATION    OF    CHRIST'S     COMING,    IN     POINT    OP    TIME, 


8  CONTENTS. 

PAG* 

TO  OTHER  THINGS  PREDICTED  IN  THE  SCRIPTURES  —  FIRST 
METHOD  OF  COMPUTING  THE  TIME,  OR  MILLENNIAL  SEPTEN- 
ARY  SECOND  METHOD,  OR  TWELVE  HUNDRED  AND  SIXTY 

YEARS'  DOMINANCE  OF  THE  PAPACY  —  THIRD  METHOD,  OR  THE 
VIALS  OF  WRATH 250 


TWELFTH  DISCOURSE. 

BECAPITULATION  —  FOURTH    METHOD    OF    ASCERTAINING    WHEN 

CHRIST    SHALL    COME,   OR   THE    SIGNS    OF   THE   TIMES THE 

SENTIMENTS   OF  DISTINGUISHED   MEN   RESPECTING   THE  NEAR- 
NESS  OF   THE   END THE   INTENSE   DESIRABLENESS   OF    THE 

SAVIOR'S  COMING — CONCLUSION 285 

APPENDIX. 

BOOKS  AND  AUTHORS  ON  THE  SUBJECTS  OF  THIS  VOLUME 311 


Cinus. 


FIRST  DISCOURSE. 


THE       SUBJKCT       PROPOUNDED THE       TWENTY-FOURTH       CHAPTER      OP 

MATTHEW     APPLIED — CHRIST'S     PERSONAL     RETURN     TO     THE     EARTH 
PIIOVEN THE    INTENSE    IMPORTANCE    OF    THE    THEME. 


MATT.  xxiv.  3  :  And  as  lie  sat  upon  the  mount  of  Olives,  the  disci- 
ples came  unto  him  privately,  saying,  When  shall  these  things  be? 
and  ichat  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy  coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the 
world  f 

FROM  these  words  I  begin  a  series  of  special  discourses 
upon  the  holy  prophecies  concerning  "  The  Last  Times,"  and 
the  winding  up  of  the  dispensation  under  which  we  now  live. 

It  is  agreed,  by  all  believers  in  the  Bible,  that  very  mys- 
terious scenes  await  our  world.  Christians  and  Jews  concede, 
that  we  are  approaching  commotions  and  changes,  such  as 
never  have  been  since  time  began.  Indifferent  to  the  future 
as  we  may  be,  and  deep  as  are  the  church's  slumbers  upon 
the  subject,  God's  purposes  are  fixed,  and  the  wheel  of  his 
wonderful  providence  is  rolling  us  on  to  the  funeral  of  the 
"world"  that  now  is.  Every  day  we  are  coming  nearer  and 
nearer  to  a  period,  if  we  have  not  already  entered  within  its 
margin,  when  the  whole  present  arrangement  of  things  shall 
be  broken  up  and  pass  away. 


10  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

No  one  acquainted  with  the  existing  aspects  of  the  world, 
can  have  any  doubt,  that  we  have  fallen  upon  very  startling 
and  critical  times.  All  society,  everywhere,  with  its  politics, 
its  philosophy,  and  its  religion,  is  in  a  perturbed  condition, 
indicating  revolutions  and  occurrences  which  no  mere  human 
foresight  can  at  all  comprehend.  The  stream  of  earthly 
things  is  overflowing  its  old  banks,  and  spreading  out  in  every 
direction,  ia  wild,  disordered,  ungovernable,  and  overwhelm- 
ing volume.  Old  systems  and  modes  of  thought  and  belief, 
which  have  stood  for  ages,  are  everywhere  tottering  upon 
their  thrones,  and  many  of  them  reeling  as  for  their  final 
fall.  Symptoms  of  a  mysterious  metamorphose  meet  us  on 
every  hand,  causing  some  of  earth's  most  far-sighted  men,  in 
church  and  state,  to  tremble  with  amazement  and  doubt. 
What  these  approaching  changes  are  to  be  is  differently 
given,  according  to  the  different  points  of  observation  which 
men  occupy.  But  that  changes  are  certainly  coming,  all 
admit. 

I  propose,  therefore,  to  enter  upon  a  serious  and  honest 
effort  to  ascertain  what  light  the  Scriptures  throw  upon  the 
momentous  problem.  Our  heavenly  Father  has  given  us  a 
"sure  word  of  prophecy,"  and  has  been  pleased  mercifully  to 
reveal  therein  what  his  great  purposes  are,  and  how  things 
are  to  be  ordered  until  those  purposes  are  fulfilled ;  and  it  is 
my  design  to  open  the  book  of  God,  and  to  go  with  you  to  its 
unerring  and  inspiriting  pages,  to  ascertain  what  the  Lord 
hath  made  known  concerning  those  "things  which  must 
shortly  come  to  pass."  I  do  not  propose  to  take  the  prophet's 
chair,  but  to  take  the  place  of  an  humble  student  of  the  pro- 
phet's words.  I  am  a  learner,  not  a  master — a  seeker  after 
what  has  been  revealed,  and  not  a  revealer  of  what  has 
hitherto  been  unknown.  My  purpose  is,  to  keep  close  "to 
the  law  and  the  testimony."  I  will  follow  no  guides  but  the 
inspired  writers.  And  I  ask  of  you  to  test  carefully  all  that 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS.  11 

I  may  present,  beseeching  you  to  reject  all  that  I  may  by  mis- 
take utter  at  variance  with  God's  word.  I  may  err.  I  may 
not  always  hit  upon  the  exact  truth.  All  I  claim  of  you  is, 
to  approach  the  subject  with  a  prayerful  and  teachable  spirit, 
ready  to  hear  and  weigh  testimony  without  partiality  or  pre- 
judice, sincerely  desirous  to  learn  what  God  the  Spirit  saith, 
and  determined,  at  all  hazards,  to  cleave  to  all  that  the  blessed 
Scriptures  really  teach. 

I  know  that  there  is  in  many  a  strong  but  morbid  distaste 
for  the  discussion  of  these  subjects.  It  has  even  been  coolly 
said,  that  the  study  of  prophecy  either  finds  a  man  crazy,  or 
leaves  him  so.  But,  I  am  not  moved  by  such  things.  I 
suppose  that  there  are  among  the  men  who  have  devoted 
their  time,  talents,  and  learning  to  this  subject,  some  with 
quite  as  much  soundness  of  mind  and  justness  of  taste  as 
any  of  those  who  have  decided  not  to  open  the  seals  which 
inexcusable  neglect  has  put  upon  the  prophetic  Scriptures. 
Noah,  also,  was  considered  insane  for  his  concern  about  what 
was  coming  upon  the  earth  in  his  day.  Jesus  himself,  with 
all  his  Divine  gravity  and  wisdom,  was  pronounced  a  demo- 
niac. And  the  apostle  Paul,  in  the  midst  of  some  of  his 
mightiest  and  brightest  intellections,  was  branded  as  beside 
himself  and  mad.  I  would  certainly  much  rather  be  called  a 
fool  along  with  such  company,  than  to  have  that  come  upon 
me  "  which  is  spoken  of  in  the  prophets :  Behold,  ye  de- 
spisers,  and  wonder,  and  perish :  for  I  work  a  work  in  your 
days,  a  work  which  ye  shall  in  no  wise  believe."  I  am 
mortified,  ashamed,  and  pained,  whenever  I  am  pressed  to 
think  it  necessary  to  apologize  to  the  Christian  public  for  an 
attempt  to  bring  before  it  the  wonderful  and  glowing  prophe- 
cies of  Scripture  concerning  things  to  come  "  in  the  latter 
days."  Every  thing  dear  and  hopeful  in  the  Christian  faith 
stands  inseparably  connected  with  them.  They  include  nearly 
all  the^  grand  motives  to  faith,  obedience,  watchfulness,  and 


12  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

virtue.  God  also  tells  us,  that  "All  scripture  is  profitable, 
for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in 
righteousness;"  that  we  have  "a  word  of  prophecy  whcre- 
unto  we  do  well  to  taJce  heed;"  and  that  "Blessed  is  he  that 
readeth,  and  they  that  hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy,  and 
keep  the  things  that  are  written  therein."  Where,  then,  do 
men  get  liberty  to  ignore  one-half  of  the  Bible  as  useless  ? 
Who  has  authorized  us  to  seal  and  bury  in  oblivion  those 
grand  Apocalypses  of  futurity  which  God  has  given,  and  in 
reference  to  which  he  says,  "If  any  man  shall  take  away 
from  the  words  of  the  book  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take 
away  his  part  out  of  the  book  of  life,  and  out  of  the  holy 
city,  and  from  the  things  which  are  written  in  this  book  !" 
Hath  "  the  Lord  God  of  the  holy  prophets  sent  his  angel  to 
shew  unto  his  servants  the  things  which  must  shortly  be 
done,"  and  we  be  accounted  beside  ourselves  when  we  seek  to 
find  out  the  meaning  of  the  heavenly  communications  ?  Shall 
he  solemnly  proclaim  "  these  sayings  faithful  and  true,"  and 
him  "  blessed"  that  keepeth  them,  and  we  call  it  piety  and 
wisdom  to  put  them  aside  as  loose  fables,  and  repudiate  them 
as  unmeaning  riddles  which  can  only  addle  our  brains  ?  How 
:  could  we  adopt  a  course  more  criminally  indifferent,  arrogant, 
and  unbelieving  ?  Is  not  such  conduct  a  placing  of  ourselves 
with  the  scoffers  of  the  last  days,  who  say,  "  Where  is  the 
promise  of  his  coming  ?"  Shame,  shame,  to  the  skepticism 
of  many  professing  Christians. 

Let  me  suppose  a  case.  Suppose  that  the  blessed  Savior 
should  now  appear  in  this  assembly,  and  take  this  stand,  and 
begin  to  discourse  to  you  about  the  last  times.  Would  you 
feel  justified  in  stopping  your  ears  to  his  words  because  he 
struck  upon  this  particular  theme  ?  Would  you  not  regard 
any  one  who  should  act  thus  as  under  some  strange  infatua- 
tion of  the  devil,  and  deserving  of  severe  rebuke  ?  But  where 
is  the  difference,  whether  Jesus  should  thus  come  in  person, 


A  DIFFICULT   THEME.  13 

or  come  to  us  in  the  written  word,  every  sentence  of  which 
be  has  dictated,  inspired,  or  delivered  to  us  for  our  learning? 
And  if  you  would  feel  bound  to  give  him  a  reverent  hearing 
in  the  one  case,  why  not  feel  equally  bound  in  the  case  which 
actually  exists  ?  Christ  is  here  with  his  word  to  instruct  us 
upon  these  very  subjects;  and  it  would  not  be  worse  to  stop 
your  ears  to  his  personal  voice,  than  it  is  to  refuse  to  hear  and 
consider  his  written  truth. 

Prophecy,  it  is  true,  is  a  somewhat  difficult  theme.  Peter 
tells  us,  that  it  is  aa  light  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place."  We 
must  not  expect  everything  to  be  as  obvious  and  plain  as  in 
the  noonday  when  all  is  luminous.  Especially  in  unfulfilled 
prophecy,  there  must  needs  be  sonic  obscurity  in  the  parti- 
cular details  of  circumstances,  "  times  and  seasons."  But, 
there  are  difficulties  to  be  encountered  and  wildernesses  to  be 
traversed  just  as  great  and  discouraging  in  other  departments 
of  learning;  yet,  instead  of  being  deterred  by  them,  men  are 
rather  the  more  stimulated  to  meet  them,  and  are  accustomed 
so  constantly  to  triumph  over  them,  that  we  cease  to  be  sur- 
prised at  the  most  astonishing  strides  of  human  genius.  Does 
the  astronomer  cease  to  study  and  survey  the  heavens,  be- 
cause, with  all  his  aids,  he  never  can  fully  take  in  the  tre- 
mendous sweep  of  God's  universe,  or  tell  what  sort  of  inha- 
bitants are  in  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  ?  Does  the  geologist 
^ease  to  dig  and  bore  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  or  give 
over  the  study  of  its  rocks  and  fossils,  because  he  cannot  find 
out  all  that  lies  hidden  in  its  unknown  centre,  or  tell  how  the 
strata  of  its  crust  were  formed,  or  describe  the  appearance 
and  habits  of  those  monsters  whose  bones  lie  entombed  under 
fts  surface  ?  Does  the  physician  throw  aside  all  further  inquiry 
into  the  auatouiy  and  physiology  of  man,  because  he  cannot 
discover  "  how  the  bones  are  formed  in  the  womb,"  what  life 
is,  and  in  what  part  of  the  body  the  soul  is  ?  Why,  then, 
should  the  Christian  ignore  the  study  of  the  predictions 

2 


11  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

which  God  has  given,  because  there  are  sonic  depths  and 
mysteries  about  them  which  we  cannot  fathom  ?  Nay,  these 
very  obscurities  and  difficulties,  which  deter  so  many  from 
examining  the  prophetic  word,  arc  not  without  their  whole- 
some effects.  It  is  a  real  pleasure  to  the  mind  to  know  that 
something  has  been  left  for  it  to  do.  It  luxuriates,  and  has 
its  highest  life  in  the  exercise  of  overcoming  obstacles,  and 
bringing  up  the  truth  from  regions  which  lie  under  the  sur- 
face of  ordinary  observation.  Only  furnish  to  the  human  facul- 
ties the  assurance  of  success,  and  it  is  their  highest  happiness 
and  purest  virtue  to  labor  and  to  wrestle  with  difficulties. 
And  so  the  glimmering  twilight  which  hangs  about  prophecy, 
is  just  what  we  might  expect,  and  what  we  need.  There  is 
light  and  plain  certainty  enough  to  guide,  cheer,  quicken,  and 
excite ;  and  just  darkness  enough  to  check  the  pride  of  specu- 
lation and  the  boasts  of  confidence,  and  to  make  us  prayer- 
ful, humble,  and  inquiring.  The  difficulties  are  not  insur- 
mountable. They  are  not  as  great  as  many  have  agreed  to 
regard  them.  They  are  more  imaginary  than  real,  and  pro- 
ceed rather  from  our  slothfulness  than  from  the  prophecies 
themselves.  People  do  not  understand  prophecy,  simply  be- 
cause they  do  not  study  it ;  and  then  they  refuse  to  study  it 
because  they  do  not  understand  it.  There  is  no  part  of  Scrip- 
ture richer  or  more  munificent  in  rewards  for  the  faithful 
inquirer.  It  is  a  garden  of  flowers — a  cabinet  of  wondrous 
jewelry.  It  is  a  vast  and  varied  landscape,  filled  with  beauty 
and  grandeur,  the  horizon  of  which  is  fringed  with  the  bright 
dawning  glories  of  eternal  day.  Here,  and  here  alone,  we 
can  see  the  real  scope  and  magnificence  of  man's  redemption. 
Here,  and  here  only,  we  can  trace  God's  providential  plans  to 
their  ultimate  consummation,  and  learn  the  real  majesty  of 
his  counsels  of  love.  At  every  step  there  is  something  to 
encourage  and  comfort  us  under  the  fatigues  and  trials  of  life, 
something  to  confirm  our  faith  and  to  fill  us  with  glorious 


T1IK    SUBJECT    1'Um-i'i  MiKD.  15 

anticipations.  Aud  if  the  limits  of  our  knowledge  can  be 
extended,  and  the  sum  of,  human  good  augmented,  by  the 
study  of  rocks,  and  bones,  and  beasts,  and  birds,  and  stars, 
how  can  it  be  unprofitable  to  bend  our  attention  a  little  more 
than  we  have  done  to  what  our  Savior  has  revealed  concerning 
"  the  signs  of  his  coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the  world"  ? 

That  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  Son  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  will 
certainly  return  again  to  this  earth,  is  a  doctrine  written  in 
all  the  creeds,  and  sung  about  by  Christians  every  week.  It 
is  an  event  the  subliinest  in  coming  time,  the  most  largely 
treated  in  the  Scriptures,  and  the  most  deeply  involving  all 
that  relates  to  the  destiny  of  our  world.  As  Christ  is  the 
centre  of  history,  his  second  coming  is  the  centre  of  pro- 
phecy, which  is  history  written  beforehand.  I  have  accord- 
ingly fixed  upon  this  final  advent  of  the  Lord  as  the  central 
thought  of  these  investigations,  and  as  the  point  from  which 
to  survey  the  great  scenes  of  the  last  times.  To  attempt  to 
prove  to  you  that  the  Son  of  man  will  really  and  personally 
come  again  to  this  world,  may  seem  quite  superfluous.  It  is 
a  doctrine  which  orthodox  Christians  universally  admit.  And 
yet,  perhaps,  there  is  not  another  article  of  Christian  faith  so 
coldly  and  indefinitely  apprehended.  Few  men  embrace  it  as 
a  reality.  Few  men  lay  hold  of  it  as  an  efficacious  truth. 
People  deny  it  not,  but  neither  do  they  feel  it.  They  have  so 
much  preoccupied  their  minds  with  imaginary  figurative 
comings  of  the  Savior,  in  providence,  in  his  Spirit,  in  his 
word,  and  in  his  church,  that  his  only  real  coming  has  well- 
nigh  become  obsolete — a  mere  dead  letter.  It  no  longer 
comes  upon  the  heart  and  conscience  with  its  proper  awaken- 
ing and  commanding  power.  "We  recite  it,  and  sing  it ;  but 
we  do  not  effectually  receive  it.  It  is  in  our  creed,  but  it 
cannot  be  said  to  be  our  faith.  If  we  entertain  it  at  all,  it 
is  at  a  great  distance  off.  It  cannot  therefore  be  a  matter  of 
small  importance  for  us  to  review  our  position,  and  to  en- 


16  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

deavor  to  ascertain  where  we  stand  in  regard  to  this  great 
doctrine.  If  we  have  been  unconsciously  saying  to  ourselves, 
"  the  Lord  delayeth  his  coming,"  it  is  time  that  we  should 
wake  up  to  the  fact,  lest  that  day  should  come  upon  us  un- 
awares. Christ  bids  us  "Watch;  for  in  such  an  hour  as  ye 
think  not,  the  Son  of  man  cometh."  "  The  day  of  the  Lord 
so  cometh  as  a  thief  in  the  night."  "As  a  snare  shall  it 
come  on  all  them  that  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth." 
And  amid  the  tremendous  heavings  of  society  in  our  day,  we 
are  the  most  solemnly  admonished  to  look  well  to  our  hearts, 
and  to  keep  close  to  the  directions  of  our  Lord. 

The  great  original  prophecy  concerning  the  second  advent, 
the  principal  storehouse  from  which  the  apostles  and  first 
Christians  drew  their  faith  and  illustrations  upon  the  subject, 
— is  that  glorious  discourse  of  the  Savior  which  he  gave  to 
Peter,  James,  John,  and  Andrew,  in  answer  to  the  questions 
propounded  in  the  text.  Next  to  the  sermon  on  the  mount, 
that  discourse  is  the  longest  and  the  most  momentous  of  all 
that  has  been  preserved  of  the  Savior's  communications. 
And  yet,  there  is,  perhaps,  no  part  of  Scripture  that  has  been 
so  much  abused,  confused,  and  obscured  by  professed  inter- 
preters. Though  the  Bible  nowhere  so  pointedly,  directly, 
literally,  and  plainly  asserts  and  describes  the  final  advent  of 
the  Lord,  there  is  scarcely  a  commentary  in  existence  which 
does  not  so  Jerusalemize,  spiritualize,  and  allegorize  it,  as  to 
leave  it  the  most  indefinite  and  unmeaning  of  all  the  Savior's 
teachings.  The  prevailing  impression  is,  that  the  twenty- 
fourth  chapter  of  Matthew  is  a  mixed  prophecy,  referring 
primarily  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans,  and, 
perhaps,  by  a  sort  of  typical  implication,  remotely  touching 
upon  the  scenes  of  Christ's  final  personal  coming.  But  what 
relates  to  Jewish  troubles,  and  what  relates  to  the  transactions 
of  the  last  times,  no  commentary  in  the  hands  of  the  people 
has  told.  Others,  again,  apply  the  whole  to  the  taking  of 


THE  XXIV.  CHAPTER  OP  MATTHEW.         17 

Jerusalem  only,  and  consider  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man 
nothing  but  the  coming  of  the  Roman  legions  into  Palestine, 
and  thus  adopt  principles  of  interpretation,  which,  if  carried 
out,  must  inevitably  and  forever  strike  from  the  Bible  every 
jot  and  tittle  of  evidence  that  Christ  ever  will  return  again  in 
person  to  our  world.  And  what  is  the  more  astonishing  in  all 
this  is,  that  there  is  not  the  least  necessity  for  any  difficulty 
euch  as  expositors  have  found  with  it.  I  propose,  therefore, 
to  take  it  up  and  read  it  from  the  beginning,  in  order  to  show 
you  how  plain  and  straightforward  it  is,  disposing  of  one 
thing  at  a  time,  and  leaving  no  room  for  any  confusion,  ob- 
scurity, or  mistake.  Three  evangelists  have  severally  given  us  a 
report  of  this  prophecy,  and  each  gives  some  particulars  which 
are  not  found  in  the  others.  We  must  therefore  keep  them 
all  before  us  in  order  to  have  the  full  record  of  what  the  Lord 
said.  I  will  accordingly  fill  up  the  account  which  Matthew 
gives,  with  such  additions  as  may  be  found  in  Mark  and  Luke. 

"And  Jesus  went  out,  and  departed  from  the  temple;  and 
his  disciples  came  to  him,  for  to  show  him  the  buildings  of 
the  temple.  And  Jesus  said  unto  them,  See  ye  not  all  these 
things  ?  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  [Luke  :  the  days  will  come 
in  the  which,]  there  shall  not  be  left  here  one  stone  upon  an- 
other, that  shall  not  be  thrown  down." 

This  is  too  plain  to  be  misunderstood.  The  Savior  here 
predicted  the  utter  ruin  of  Jerusalem  and  the  temple,  and 
nothing  else. 

"And  as  he  sat  upon  the  mount  of  Olives,  the  disciples 
[Peter,  and  James,  and  John,  and  Andrew]  came  unto  him 
privately,  saying,  Tell  us,  WHEN  SHALL  THESE  THINGS  BE  ? 

AND  WHAT  SHALL  BE  THE  SIGN  OF  THY  COMING,  AND  OF 
THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD,  or  AGE  ?" 

Now,  observe  these  questions  attentively,  for  upon  them  is 
founded  all  that  follows  in  this  chapter  and  that  which  sue- 


18  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

cccds  it.  Christ  had  spoken  of  nothing  but  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  and  the  temple.  The  disciples  asked  him  when 
that  destruction  should  take  place.  But  that  was  not  all  they 
asked.  With  Jerusalem's  overthrow  they  connected  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Messiah  in  his  glorious  kingdom,  and  also  the 
consummation  of  all  things.  They,  consequently,  asked  three 
distinct  questions,  though  they  were  somewhat  confused  in 
their  idea  of  the  relations  of  the  one  to  the  other.  If  the 
Savior  then  would  answer  their  inquiries,  he  must  needs 
speak  of  these  three  particulars :  first,  the  time  of  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem ;  second,  the  signs  of  his  own  appear- 
ance in  the  glory  of  his  kingdom ;  and,  third,  of  the  signs  of 
the  end  of  the  world.  These,  therefore,  are  the  subjects  of 
his  discourse,  and  he  disposed  of  each  in  its  proper  order,  at 
the  same  time  so  framing  his  words  as  to  disabuse  the  minds 
of  the  disciples  of  their  false  impressions  concerning  the  con- 
nection of  things  which  did  not  belong  together.  This  is  the 
key  to  the  whole  prophecy. 

"And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  Take  heed  that 
no  man  deceive  you." 

Here  is  the  plain  indication,  in  the  very  first  words,  that 
the  disciples  had  somehow  misapprehended  these  momentous 
matters.  It  is  as  though  he  had  said,  Your  minds  are  now 
confused  upon  this  subject;  you  are  expecting  my  coming 
and  kingdom  in  connection  with  the  fall  of  the  temple ;  in 
such  a  view  of  things  you  are  in  great  danger  of  being  led 
astray;  I,  therefore,  caution  you  to  beware  respecting  your 
expectations  of  my  coming  at  the  fall  of  Jerusalem. 

"  For  many  shall  come  in  my  name,  saying,  I  am  Christ, 
and  shall  deceive  many.  \_Lu7ce :  And  THE  TIME  DRAWETH 
NEAR;  go  ye  not  therefore  after  them.]" 

All  this  evidently  refers  exclusively  to  the  period  of  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  when  this  prediction  concerning 
false  pretenders  to  the  Messiahship  was  amply  fulfilled.  Jo- 


PREDICTIONS   RELATIVE   TO   JERUSALEM.  19 

sephus  gives  the  names  of  many  false  Christs  who  arose  at 
that  time. 

"And  ye  shall  hear  of  wars,  and  rumors  of  wars;  see  that 
ye  be  not  troubled ;  for  all  these  things  must  come  to  pass  ; 
BUT  THE  END  IS  NOT  YET.  For  nation  shall  rise  against 
nation,  and  kingdom  against  kingdom;  and  there  shall  be 
famines,  and  pestilences,  and  [great]  earthquakes,  in  divers 
places.  [Luke :  And  fearful  sights,  and  great  signs  shall 
there  be  from  heaven.]  All  these  are  the  beginning  of 
sorrows." 

These  things  were  all  literally  and  exactly  fulfilled  in  the 
period  of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  as  may  be  seen  in  Josephus, 
and  the  commentaries  upon  these  verses. 

"  [Luke :  But  before  all  these,  they  shall  lay  their  hands 
on  you,  and  persecute  you.]  Then  shall  they  deliver  you  up 
[to  councils,  the  synagogues,  and  into  prisons]  to  be  afflicted ; 
and  shall  kill  you.  [Mark :  And  ye  shall  be  brought  before 
rulers  and  kings  for  my  sake,  for  a  testimony  against  them ;] 
and  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  nations  for  my  name's  sake.  And 
then  shall  many  be  offended,  and  shall  betray  one  another, 
and  shall  hate  one  another.  And  many  false  prophets  shall 
arise,  and  deceive  many.  And  because  iniquity  shall  abound, 
the  love  of  many  shall  wax  cold.  But  he  that  shall  endure 
unto  the  end,  the  same  shall  be  saved." 

All  this  related  to  the  times  of  the  apostles  themselves,  and 
was  literally  and  completely  fulfilled  in  their  day,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  following  passages : — Acts  iv.  1-3 ;  v.  17,  18,  27, 
40,  41;  vii.  59;  xii.  1-4;  xvi.  19,  20;  xvii.  6;  xxvi.  10, 11; 
xxviii.  30,  31;  xx.  29,  30;  2  Tim.  i.  15;  iv.  10,  14;  2  Pet. 
ii.  1;  Jude  4;  1  John  iv.  1;  ii.  18;  2  John  7. 

"And  this  gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all 
the  world  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations ;  and  then  shall  the 
end  come." 

It  is  not  a  little  surprising  that  some  writers,  who  apply 


20  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

this  chapter  as  a  whole  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  yet 
except  this  verse,  and  apply  it  to  the  last  times.  When  we 
press  upon  men  the  idea  that  the  time  of  Christ's  coming  is 
near,  they  point  to  this  passage  and  say,  No,  it  cannot  be;  the 
gospel  must  first  be  preached  to  all  nations,  whereas  multi- 
tudes have  never  yet  heard  it.  But  they  are  greatly  mistaken. 
The  end  here  spoken  of  is  not  the  termination  of  all  mundane 
existence,  but  the  consummation  of  the  cuooy — the  age  or  dis- 
pensation which  existed  when  the  prophecy  was  uttered. 
And  this  universal  proclamation  of  the  gospel  was  abundantly 
fulfilled  in  the  apostolic  age.  Hear  what  Eusebius  says  of 
that  period : — "  Under  a  celestial  influence  and  co-operation, 
the  doctrine  of  the  Savior,  like  the  rays  of  the  sun,  quickly 
irradiated  the  ichole  world.  Presently,  in  accordance  with 
divine  prophecy,  the  voice  of  his  inspired  evangelists  and 
apostles  had  gone  throughout  all  the  earfli,  and  their  words  to 
THE  END  or  THE  WORLD."  And  if  Eusebius  is  not  con- 
sidered sufficient  authority,  then  hear  the  testimony  of  the 
inspired  apostles  themselves.  Paul  died  years  before  Jerusa- 
lem was  destroyed,  and  yet  he  says  to  the  Colossians,  (i.  6,) 
"  The  word  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel  is  come  unto  you,  as  it 
is  IN  ALL  THE  WORLD."  "Be  not  moved  away  from  the 
hope  of  the  gospel,  which  ye  have  heard,  and  which  was 

preached  TO  EVERY  CREATURE  WHICH  IS  UNDER   HEAVEN." 

(i.  23.)  "Have  they  not  heard?  Yes,  verily,  their  sound 
went  into  all  the  earth,  and  their  words  unto  THE  ENDS  OP 
THE  WORLD."  (Rom.  x.  18.)  Such,  then,  is  the  divinely 
attested  fact,  that  this  gospel  of  the  kingdom  was  preached  in, 
all  the  world  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations  during  apostolic 
times.  The  Savior  was  speaking  of  the  end  of  Jerusalem, 
and  said  that  the  gospel  should  ere  that  be  universally  an- 
nounced, and  so  it  came  to  pass,  as  apostles  testify.  The  pas- 
sage, therefore,  relates  to  apostolic,  and  not  to  the  last  times. 


WARNING   AGAINST   FALSE   PROPHETS.  21 

The  necessity  for  so  understanding  it  is  further  evident  from 
what  follows. 

"  When  ye  therefore  shall  see" — what  ?     Luke  tells  us  : 

Wh.cn  ye  therefore  shall  see  [JERUSALEM  COMPASSED 
ABOUT  WITII  ARMIES]  the  abomination  of  desolation  spoken 
of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  in  the  holy  place,  [Mark :  standing 
where  it  ought  not,]  [Luke :  then  know  that  the  desolation 
thereof  is  nigh.]  Then  let  them  which  be  in  Judea  flee  into 
the  mountains.  Let  him  which  is  on  the  housetop  not  come 
down  to  take  any  thing  out  of  the  house.  Neither  let  him 
which  is  in  the  field  return  back  to  take  his  clothes.  [Luke : 
For  these  be  the  days  of  vengeance,  that  all  things  which  are 
written  may  be  fulfilled.]  And  woe  unto  them  that  are  with 
child,  and  to  them  that  give  suck  in  those  days  !" 

No  one  can  mistake  the  application  of  this  to  the  time  of 
the  siege  of  Jerusalem.  The  woe  here  predicted  in  the  case 
of  certain  classes  is  the  result  of  the  unpreparedness  of  the 
parties  to  encounter  the  exposure  and  hardships  of  the  preci- 
pitate flight.  Hence,  it  is  also  added, — 

"  Pray  ye  that  your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter ;  neither  on 
the  Sabbath-day.  For  then  shall  be  great  tribulation  [Luke  : 
in  the  land,  and  wrath  upon  this  people,]  such  as  was  not 
since  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this  time,  no,  nor  ever 
shall  be.  And  except  those  days  should  be  shortened,  there 
should  be  no  flesh  saved :  but  for  the  elect's  sake,  [whom  he 
hath  chosen,]  those  days  shall  be  shortened." 

All  this  is  plain,  and  unquestionably  refers  to  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem  and  the  Jewish  troubles.  "  The  elect"  spoken  of 
are  those  Jews  whom  God  chose  out  of  the  apostate  race  to 
survive  the  great  tribulation  for  some  ulterior  purpose.  And 
when  these  troubles  should  come,  Jesus  said, — 

"  THEN,  if  any  man  shall  say  unto  you,  Lo,  here  is  Christ, 
or  there ;  believe  it  not.  For  there  shall  arise  false  Christs 
and  false  prophets,  aad  shall  show  great  signs  and  wonders; 


22  THE    LAST    TI.MKS. 

I 

insomuch  that,  if  it  were  possible,  they  should  deceive  the 
very  elect.  [But  take  ye  heed :]  behold,  I  have  told  you 
before,  if  they  shall  say  unto  you,  Behold,  he  is  in  the  desert ; 
go  not  forth :  behold,  he  is  in  the  secret  chambers ;  believe  it 
not." 

You  see  how  particularly  urgent  the  Savior  was  to  guard 
the  disciples  against  being  deluded  by  false  Christs.  This 
was  their  greatest  danger.  Everybody  believed  that  that  was 
the  age  for  Messiah's  coming.  Everybody  expected  him  as 
a  great  prince  who  should  interpose  for  the  deliverance  of  the 
Jewish  people  at  a  time  of  threatening  danger.  And  when 
those  great  troubles  began  to  spread  destruction  on  every  side, 
the  most  natural  inference  would  be  that  his  coming  could  be 
no  longer  delayed,  and  that  temporal  salvation  would  certainly 
come  to  them  by  his  hand.  He  therefore  cautions  his  dis- 
ciples most  specifically  not  to  be  deceived  by  such  a  hope ; 
that  the  city  woulcWall ;  that  the  Jewish  system  would  end ; 
that  the  Messiah  would  not  then  interpose  for  Israel's  rescue ; 
and  that  he  would  not  then  come  as  men  would  suppose.  He 
insists,  with  the  most  earnest  repetition,  that  if  any  man  then 
set  himself  up  as  the  promised  Deliverer,  they  should  not 
believe  him;  that  they  should  credit  no  reports  of  the  Mes- 
siah's appearance,  either  in  the  secret  places  of  the  temple  or 
in  the  desert;  that  false  Christs  would  arise  and  deceive 
many;  and  that  all  hopes  of  the  real  Savior's  coming  at  that 
juncture  would  prove  utterly  fallacious.  And  to  make  his 
cautions  still  more  impressive  and  effectual,  he  tells  them  that 
when  the  Messiah  should  come,  it  would  be  in  a  manner  very 
different  from  the  miserable  demonstrations  of  those  pre- 
tenders : 

"FOR  AS  THE  LIGHTNING  COMETH  OUT  OP  THE  EAST, 
AND  SHINETH  EVEN  UNTO  THE  WEST ;  SO  SHALL  ALSO  THE 
COMING  OF  THE  SON  OF  MAN  BE." 

Here,  then,  is  an  allusion  to  Christ's  own  final  coming. 


AN    IMPORTANT   REMARK.  -•> 

Look  at  its  connection,  and  fix  its  meaning  upon  your  minds. 
He  here  declares  that  he  will  come,  but  not  at  the  period  of 
•which  he  was  then  speaking ;  and  that  when  he  does  come, 
unlike  those  false  Christs,  his  appearance  will  be  a  sublime 
and  open  thing,  which  all  may  see  and  no  one  mistake.  To 
say  that  the  Savior  is  here  speaking  of  the  coming  of  the 
Roman  armies,  is  to  contradict  the  whole  strain  of  the  dis- 
course, and  a  plain  falsehood.  He  is  speaking  of  his  own 
real  and  personal  coming  at  the  end  of  time,  by  way  of  con- 
trast to  those  false  Messiahs  who  should  arise  in  the  time  of 
Judah's  troubles.  To  apply  it  to  the  coming  of  the  Roman 
armies  utterly  destroys  the  contrast,  and  renders  the  passage 
meaningless.  But  with  this  allusion  to  his  own  real  coming, 
the  Savior  still  continues  the  prediction  concerning  Jerusalem  : 

"  For  wheresoever  the  carcass  is,  there  will  the  eagles  be 
gathered  together." 

This  is  a  sort  of  proverbial  expression^fcdicating  that  the 
Jewish  people  were  most  offensively  corrupt;  that  God's  fierce 
judgments  would  certainly  find  out  such  flagrant  sinners ;  and 
that  it  was  utterly  futile  to  hope  that  the  Messiah  would  in- 
terpose for  the  rescue  of  such  an  iniquitous  generation. 

Here,  now,  comes  in  a  most  important  and  comprehensive 
remark,  omitted  by  Matthew,  but  given  by  Luke,  which, 
when  inserted,  most  clearly  marks  the  Savior's  transition  from 
the  subject  of  Jerusalem's  fall  to  the  other  subject  of  which 
the  disciples  inquired,  viz. :  his  own  personal  coming  in  the 
last  times.  That  it  is  a  part  of  the  Lord's  prophecy  on  this 
occasion  is  distinctly  stated.  And  that  this  is  the  place  in 
which  it  belongs  will  be  evident  to  all  who  will  thoroughly 
examine  the  matter.  It  cannot  be  placed  in  along  with  what 
has  thus  far  been  said ;  neither  can  it  be  inserted  with  what 
follows,  without  interfering  with  the  chronological  order  of 
the  prophecy,  disturbing  its  naturalness,  and  obscuring  its 
meaning.  But,  placed  here,  it  connects  all  together,  and 


24  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

furnishes  much  light  for  the  right 'interpretation  of  the  Sa- 
vior's words.  Of  these  corrupt  Jewish  rebels,  ready  to  be 
devoured  by  the  Roman  eagles,  he  says, — 

"And  they  shall  fall  by  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  shall  be 
led  away  captive  in  all  nations ;  and  Jerusalem  shall  be  trod- 
den down  of  the  Gentiles,  UNTIL  THE  TIMES  OP  THE  GEN- 
TILES BE  FULFILLED." 

From  this  description  of  Jerusalem's  fall,  you  perceive  that 
the  Savior  passes  along  down  the  centuries  of  Jacob's  trouble 
and  depression  unto  the  last  times, — to  the  period  when  Jeru- 
salem shall  be  no  longer  trodden  down,  and  "  the  times  of  the 
Gentiles  be  fulfilled."  We  thus  behold  what  a  range  of 
years  is  embraced  in  the  prediction.  Beginning  with  the  fall 
of  the  Jewish  metropolis  and  state,  and  the  deportation  of  the 
Jewish  people,  it  reaches  down  through  all  the  long  ages  of 
Jewish  dispersion  and  desolation,  to  the  consummation  of  all 
things,  and  the  times  and  scenes  of  the  Savior's  own  glorious 
coming.  Now,  then,  we  read, — 

"IMMEDIATELY  AFTER  THE  TRIBULATION  OF  THOSE 
DAYS, " 

The  tribulation  of  what  days  ?  Why,  the  tribulation  of  all 
those  days  in  which  Jerusalem  is  trodden  down  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  the  Jews  remain  captive  among  the  nations.  The 
Jewish  tribulation  did  not  end  with  the  ruin  of  Jerusalem. 
It  has  continued  for  eighteen  hundred  years.  It  lasts  to  this 
very  hour.  The  sons  of  Jacob  are  still  scattered  abroad,  and 
to  this  moment  they  sigh  under  God's  scathing  judgments, 
and  weep  in  bitterness  by  the  few  relics  of  that  dear  Jerusa- 
lem that  still  languishes  under  the  foul  foot  of  Gentileism. 
But  when  this  tribulation  begins  to  pass  away,  immediately 
after  Israel's  national  resurrection  commences,  then  the  mo- 
mentous transactions  of  the  last  days  begin. 

"  Immediately  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days,  shall  the 
sun  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and 


AN    AXIOM.  25 

the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven ;  [Luke :  and  upon  earth  dis- 
tress of  nations,  with  perplexity,  the  sea  and  the  waves 
thereof  roaring ;  men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for 
looking  after  those  things  that  are  coming  on  the  earth ;]  and 
the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken." 

It  is  now  no  longer  Jerusalem  of  which  the  Savior  is  speak- 
ing. What  he  here  foretells  concerns  all  the  families  of  man. 
The  scenes  which  he  now  depicts  are  scenes  which  come  after 
the  long  winter  of  Judah's  sufferings.  They  are  the  judg- 
ment-scenes of  the  last  times. 

"AXD  THEN  SHALL  APPEAR  THE  SIGN  OP  THE  SON  OP 
MAX  IN  HEAVEN  :  AND  THEN  SHALL  ALL  THE  TRIBES  OP 
THE  EARTH  MOURN,  AND  THEY  SHALL  SEE  THE  SON  OF  MAX 
COMIXG  IN  THE  CLOUDS  OF  HEAVEN,  WITH  POWER  AXD 
GREAT  GLORY." 

Oh,  what  a  shame,  that  men  should  spend  their  pains  and 
learning  in  attempts  to  tie  down  this  language  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  by  the  Roman  armies !  My  brethren,  if 
this  passage  does  not  primarily,  directly,  and  specifically  refer 
to  the  final  and  personal  advent  of  Jesus  himself,  it  is  useless 
to  confide  in  the  certainty  of  language,  and  there  is  no  proof 
in  the  Bible  that  he  ever  will  come. 

I  take  it  as  an  axiom — a  settled  verity  which  demonstrates 
itself — that  two  events  separated  in  point  of  time  cannot  be 
the  same  event.  But  it  would  seem  that  some  of  our  learned 
commentators  are  not  prepared  to  admit  it.  Ask  them  what 
is  meant  by  "  the  tribulation  of  those  days,"  described  in  the 
twenty-ninth  and  preceding  verses;  and  they  will  tell  you  it 
means  the  calamities  and  sufferings  of  the  Jews  induced  by 
the  siege  and  overthrow  of  their  city  and  state.  Ask  them, 
again,  what  is  meant  by  the  ''distress  of  nations/'  and  the 
mourning  of  the  tribes  of  the  earth,  "after  the  tribulation  of 
those  days;"  and  "Whitby,  Newton,  Lightfoot,  Coke,  Clarke, 
Burkitt,  Scott,  Watson,  Barnes,  and  nearly  every  man  of 

3 


26  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

them,  replies  that  it  means  the -same  thing — the  calamities 
and  sufferings  of  the  Jews  induced  by  the  siege  and  overthrow 
of  their  city  and  state !  Ask  them  what  is  meant  by  the 
coming  of  the  Son  of  man  as  the  lightning,  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven,  with  power  and  great  glory  j  and,  with  a  little  wincing 
uncertainty,  they  all  finally  agree  upon  the  answer,  that  it 
means  the  coming  of  the  Roman  armies  to  destroy  Jerusalem ! 
and  that,  too,  right  in  the  face  of  the  specific  statement  by 
the  Son  of  God,  that  this  glorious  coming  is  not  only  subse- 
quent to  Jerusalem's  overthrow,  but  "after"  the  expiration 
of  the  whole  consequent  tribulation  !  Can  an  effect  go  before 
its  cause  ?  These  men  verily  seem  to  think  it  can ;  for  they 
make  the  coming  of  the  Roman  armies  to  destroy  Jerusalem 
occur  after  that  destruction  has  been  consummated,  and  all  its 
sad  effects  have  passed  away !  Can  that  which  follows  after 
be  identical  with  that  which  preceded  it  ?  Commentaries 
being  judges,  so  it  would  seem;  for  with  them  the  mourning 
and  distress  which  comes  "after"  one  tribulation  has  passed 
away,  is  that  past  tribulation  !  Can  the  annals  of  learning 
furnish  a  parallel  to  the  absurdities  which  characterize  nearly 
the  whole  round  of  our  popular  disquisitions  upon  this  portion 
of  the  word  of  God  ?  Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  doctrine  of 
Christ's  second  coming  has  lost  its  weight  and  power,  when 
its  great  foundation-text  is  thus  explained  away  to  suit  a 
supercilious  erudition  ? 

One  of  the  strangest  things  in  the  world  is  the  manner  in 
which  some  people  read  the  Bible.  It  would  almost  seem  as 
if  they  turned  it  upside-down,  and  read  it  backwards.  "  Eyes 
have  they,  but  they  see  not."  They  praise  it,  and  hold  it  in 
holy  regard,  and  insist  that  everybody  ought  to  have  it;  yet 
they  look  into  it  only  as  some  recondite  volume,  which  is  a 
good  text-book  for  preachers,  but  which  is  quite  beyond  the 
reach  of  their  understanding.  They  adore  it  more  for  the 
unknown  mysteries  which  they  attribute  to  it,  than  from  their 


THE    BIBLE.  27 

personal  appreciation  of  what  their  own  eyes  have  beheld 
upon  its  pages.  Many  seem  to  view  it  as  a  sublime  riddle- 
book,  full  of  mystic  poetry  and  unsearchable  wisdom,  rather 
than  as  a  plain  piece  of  information  and  advice  given  by  a 
Father  to  his  inexperienced  and  exposed  children.  And 
many  who  sit  down  to  write  commentaries  upon  it  seem  to  be 
continually  haunted  with  the  idea  that  there  is  something 
recondite  in  every  word,  or  that  the  real  mind  of  the  Spirit  is 
not  to  be  found  in  the  plain  import  of  the  letter,  but  in  some 
abstruse  or  mystic  analogy  which  it  is  their  business  to  dig 
after.  I  hold  that  the  Bible  is  a  book  for  everybody,  in 
which  God  speaks  for  the  purpose  of  being  understood  by 
everybody;  that  its  language  is  conformed  to  the  ordinary 
uses  of  speech ;  and  that  it  is  to  be  interpreted  in  the  .same 
common-sense  way  in  which  we  would  interpret  the  will  of  a 
deceased  parent,  or  ascertain  the  meaning •f  abettor  on  busi- 
ness. It  was  not  written  to  tax  our  ingenuity,  or  to  test 
men's  skill  at  learned  exposition.  Its  design  is  to  instruct, 
and  in  the  most  familiar  way  to  express  to  men  the  mind  and 
will  of  God.  vVhen  Christ  speaks  of  "  the  Son  of  man," 
he  means  the  Son  of  man,  and  not  the  Roman  armies.  When 
he  speaks  of  his  "  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,"  he  means 
his  coining  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  not  the  sailing  of  war- 
ships on  the  Mediterranean,  or  the  march  of  soldiers  over  the 
fields  of  earth.  When  he  says  "after"  the  Jewish  tribulations 
are  ended,  he  means  "after"  those  tribulations,  and  not  before 
they  began,  or  while  they  were  yet  in  their  incipiency.  And 
when  he  says  that  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  "  shall  sec  the 
Son  of  man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power  and 
great  glory,"  expositors  might  as  well  attempt  to  demonstrate 
to  me  that  day  is  night,  or  that  white  is  black,  as  to  attempt 
to  make  me  believe  that  he  means  the  march  of  an  army  of 
boorish  heathen  soldiers.  Christ  knew  what  he  wished  to  say, 
and  how  to  say  what  he  meant;  and  I  feel  myself  bound  to 


28  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

understand  him  to  mean  just  what  he  says.  And  what  he 
here  predicts  respecting  his  coming  in  the  clouds  at  the  close 
of  Judah's  troubles  no  more  refers  to  the  coming  of  the 
Roman  armies  into  Palestine  than  to  the  flight  of  Mahomet, 
or  the  next  eclipse  of  the  moon.  He  is  describing  the  scenes 
of  the  judgment-period,  and  nothing  else. 

"And  then  he  shall  send  his  angels  with  a  great  sound  of  a 
trumpet,  and  they  shall  gather  together  his  elect  from  the 
four  winds,  from  one  end  of  heaven  to  the  other. 

"  Now  learn  a  parable  of  the  fig-tree ;  when  his  branch  is 
yet  tender,  and  putteth  forth  leaves,  ye  know  that  summer  is 
nigh :  so  likewise  ye,  when  ye  shall  see  all  these  things,  know 
that  it  [the  kingdom  of  God]  is  near,  even  at  the  doors. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  THIS  GENERATION  SHALL  NOT  PASS, 

TILL   ALL   THESE    THINGS    BE   FULFILLED." 

Some  have  groundlessly  supposed  that  this  last  remark 
requires  the  application  of  this  whole  prophecy  to  the  times 
of  the  apostles,  and  consequently  to  Jerusalem's  destruction. 
They  take  the  word  "generation"  as  meaning  those  who  live 
in  the  same  thirty  years;  thirty  years  being  reckoned  to  a 
generation.  But  if  this  be  the  sense,  then  how  shall  we 
reconcile  the  prophecy  with  facts  ?  Jerusalem  was  not  de- 
stroyed until  about  forty  years  after  the  Savior  uttered  these 
words.  And  if  he  meant  that  a  generation  of  thirty  or  even 
thirty-three  years  should  not  pass  away  till  all  these  things 
should  be  fulfilled,  his  prediction  cannot  be  verified.  It  is 
gratuitous,  however,  to  insist  upon  that  sense  of  the  word 
generation.  The  original  is  yevsa — a  race,  a  class,  a  family 
of  people ;  as  where  it  is  said,  "  the  children  of  this  world 
are  wiser  in  their  generation  than  the  children  of  light,"  and 
where  we  read  of  "  the  generation  of  the  righteous,"  "  the  gene- 
ration of  the  upright"  "  the  generation  of  God's  children" 
"  a  generation  that  curseth  their  father,"  "  the  generation  of 
God's  wrath,"  and  in  other  like  instances.  The  plain  mean- 


MEANING   OP   CHRIST'S   PROPHECY.  29 

ing  of  the  Savior  is,  that  the  family  of  Abraham,  the  Israel- 
itish  people,  should  not  pass  out  of  existence,  as  a  distinct  class 
or  race,  before  all  these  predictions  should  be  verified.  So 
Clarke  understands  the  matter,  although  he  applies  it  to  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  He  thus  paraphrases  the  passage : — 
"  This  generation — this  race,  i.  e.  the  Jews — shall  not  cease 
from  being  a  distinct  people,  till  all  the  counsels  of  God  rela- 
tive to  them  and  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled/'  Chrysostom, 
Flacius,  Mede,  Wolfius,  Sykes,  Towers,  and  Buck,  all  take 
the  word  "generation"  in  this  passage  as  meaning  the  Jewish 
race.  And  what  the  Savior  says  is,  that  the  Jewish  people 
shall  not  lose  their  distinctness  as  a  family  before  the  Son  of 
man  shall  come  and  this  whole  prophecy  be  fulfilled. 

"  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  words  shall  not 
pass  away." 

It  is  therefore  as  plain  as  language  can  make  it,  that  this 
prophecy  of  the  Savior  runs  through  all  time,  from  its  de- 
livery down  to  the  end  of  the  world  that  now  is.  Men  may 
try  to  believe  that  he  spoke  only  of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  and 
the  Jewish  constitution,  but  they  deceive  themselves;  they 
distort,  depreciate,  and  wrest  the  clear  meaning  of  his  words ; 
and  they  bring  endless  confusion  into  one  of  the  plainest,  most 
literal,  and  most  straightforward  prophecies  in  God's  word. 
The  disciples  asked  him  three  distinct  questions,  and  he  an- 
swered them  all  that  they  inquired  about.  They  wished  to 
know  when  and  how  Jerusalem  and  the  temple  should  be 
brought  to  desolation,  and  he  told  them  when  and  how  these 
things  should  be,  tracing  down  the  consequences  upon  the 
Jewish  race  to  his  final  coming  and  kingdom.  They  wished 
to  know  what  should  be  the  signs  and  form  of  his  final  coming 
in  glory  and  triumph,  and  he  explained  to  them  the  whole 
matter  with  a  fullness  of  detail  which  constitutes  the  great 
fund  from  which  his  followers  ever  afterward  drew  their  in- 
formation upon  the  subject.  They  wished  to  know  when,  and 

3* 


30  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

amid  what  circumstances,  the  end  should  come ;  and  he  an- 
swered them  on  that  point  too,  as  far  as  it  was  for  them  to 
know  the  facts,  telling  what  might  he  known  and  what  has 
been  wisely  and  mercifully  concealed.  They  were  confused  in 
their  apprehensions  of  the  relations  of  these  things  to  each 
other,  and  he  put  them  upon  their  guard  against  deception, 
carefully  separating  events  which  did  not  belong  together, 
dissuading  them  from  false  hopes,  telling  them  first  of  Jerusa- 
lem's fall  and  the  end  of  the  Judaic  age,  and  then  passing 
down  the  long  line  of  Jewish  troubles  to  the  last  times,  and 
the  winding  up  of  the  present  administration  by  his  own  per- 
sonal advent  and  kingdom. 

CHRIST,  THEREFORE,  WILL  COME  AGAIN.  He  himself  has 
taught  the  glorious  truth  in  most  impressive  fullness.  By  this 
plain,  common-sense,  and  self-demonstrating  way  of  under- 
standing this  sublime  prophecy,  the  doctrine  of  the  second 
advent  again  takes  prominence,  certainty,  and  nearness,  such 
as  it  was  originally  designed  to  have  upon  the  inspired  record. 
"We  thus  come  into  full  possession  of  the  fact  that,  not  only 
here  and  there,  in  passages  of  poetic  fervor,  and  liable  to  have 
their  force  diminished  by  allowances  for  poetic  license,  but  in 
plain,  familiar,  solemn,  didactic  discourse,  the  church  is  taught 
by  the  Lord  Jesus  himself,  to  look  for  his  triumphant  coming 
again  to  this  disordered  world.  This  doctrine  is  therefore  no 
poet's  dream,  no  mere  fabulous  device,  but  solid  matter  of 
fact, — a  most  impressive  reality.  We  may  think  but  little  of 
it,  and  put  it  far,  far  away ;  but  it  is  among  the  fixed  verities 
of  Almighty  God.  Yea,  one  of  the  last  things  that  was  said 
of  the  Savior  as  he  left  the  world  was,  "  THIS  SAME  JESUS 
which  is  talcen  up  into  heaven  SHALL  so  COME,  IN  LIKE 
MANNER,  as  ye  have  SEEN  him  go  into  heaven."  Hence- 
forward the  followers  of  the  Savior  could  say,  "THE  LORD 
HIMSELF  shall  descend  from  heaven."  "  Our  conversation  is 
in  heaven,  from  whence  also  ice  look  for  the  Savior,  the  Lord 


CERTAINTY   OF   CHRIST'S   COMING.  31 

Jesus  Christ."  "Behold,  HE  COMETH  WITH  CLOUDS;  and 
every  eye  shall  SEE  him,  and  they  also  ichich  pierced  him." 
Henceforward  could  the  disciples  go  forth,  "  looking  for  that 
blessed  hope,  even  the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God 
our  Savior  Jesus  Christ/'  and  beseech  men  "  by  the  coming 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  our  gathering  together  unto 
him,"  and  exhort  their  fellow-believers  "to  wait  for  his  Son 
from  heaven,"  and  proclaim  the  glad  "  rest,  when  the  Lord 
Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  his  mighty  angels," 
and  encourage  the  fond  hopes  of  the  persecuted  and  despond- 
ing with  the  assurance  that  "  when  he  shall  appear  we  shall 
be  like  him,  for  we  shall  SEE  HIM  AS  HE  is." 

No,  no;  "We  have  not  followed  cunningly-devised  fables, 
when  we  made  known  unto  you  the  power  and  coming  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  As  certainly  as  the  words  of  Jesus  are 
true,  as  surely  as  the  pillars  of  the  Eternal  throne  are  stead- 
fast, Jesus  himself,  in  glorified  humanity,  shall  return  again 
to  this  very  world  of  ours.  All  the  prophets  have  predicted 
it.  All  the  pious,  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  have  in 
some  shape  expected  it.  Jesus  declared  it,  both  before  his 
death  and  after  his  resurrection.  And  the  very  last  words  in 
the  holy  Testament  which  he  left  us  are,  "  He  that  testifieth 
these  things  saith,  SURELY  I  COME  QUICKLY.  AMEN."  Even 
apart  from  what  the  Scriptures  contain  upon  the  subject, 
with  the  account  of  his  humiliation  before  us,  reason  itself 
might  almost  anticipate  his  return.  We  cannot  suppose  that 
such  a  glorious  personage  will  always  remain  under  the  re- 
proach and  stigma  of  the  cross.  Natural  justice  seems  to 
demand  that  he  should  come  again,  in  the  majesty  that  apper- 
tains to  him,  in  order  to  sweep  away  the  infamy  which  wicked 
men  in  every  age  have  sought  to  heap  upon  him.  As  He 
whose  right  it  is  to  reign,  will  reign ;  and  as  He  whose  "  is 
the  kingdom,  the  power,  and  the  glory,"  will  not  forever 
leave  his  enemies  to  usurp  his  place ;  so  we  are  driven  to  ex- 


32  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

pect  him  yet  to  come,  "  glorious  in  his  apparel,  and  triumph- 
ing in  the  greatness  of  his  strength." 

It  must,  therefore,  be  a  matter  of  absorbing  interest  to 
every  man,  how,  and  when,  and  with  what  antecedents  and 
results,  the  Son  of  man  shall  come.  "This,"  says  Charles 
Beecher,  "  is  the  question  now  in  the  providence  of  God  first 
claiming  the  solemn  attention  of  the  churches."  What  can 
be  more  momentous  than  the  closing  up  of  this  whole  present 
scene  of  things  —  the  passing  away  of  the  world's  present 
fashion  and  administration  ?  What  revolutions  in  government 
— what  subversions  of  present  social  arrangements — what  de- 
struction of  empires,  thrones,  principalities,  and  powers — and 
what  shakings  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth — arc  involved  ! 
What  new  and  strange  experiences  shall  pass  over  men  when 
once  the  glorious  King  and  Judge  of  quick  and  dead  shall 
blaze  forth  his  startling  presence  in  the  clouds,  and  summon 
the  earth  to  answer  for  all  its  deeds  !  And  shall  we  not  seek 
to  understand  the  revelation  of  God  concerning  these  amazing 
scenes  ?  Shall  we  not  awake  from  our  dreams  of  peace,  and 
open  our  eyes  to  the  startling  things  that  are  crowding  thick 
around  us,  and  our  ears  to  what  God  has  said  about  them  ? 
Have  we  not  been  allegorizing,  and  spiritualizing,  and  Jerusa- 
lemizing  the  prophetic  word,  until  we  hardly  know  where  we 
are,  or  whether  there  is  any  thing  more  to  be  expected  or  not? 
Let  us,  then,  rouse  up  upon  this  momentous  subject.  We 
have  mighty  interests  staked  upon  it.  There  is  more  said 
about  it  in  the  Scriptures  than  upon  any  other  single  theme. 
And  yet  Christians  now  hardly  cast  a  thought  forward  to  the 
mighty  occurrences  which  it  involves.  We  say  the  prayer, 
11  Thy  kingdom  come!"  but  so  cold  and  lifeless  is  the  petition 
on  our  lips,  that  we  scarcely  know  what  we  are  asking.  Jesus 
says,  "Behold,  I  come  quickly;"  but  we  fold  our  arms  and 
answer,  No,  no  ;  it  will  yet  be  a  thousand  years  or  more.  He 
says  "  Watch;"  but  we  say,  There's  no  danger  that  he  will  come 


NECESSITY   FOR   PREPARATION.  33 

in  our  day.  The  midnight  cry  is  being  raised  in  every  region 
and  city  of  Christendom,  "Behold,  the  Bridegroom  cometh;  go 
ye  out  to  meet  him!"  but  multitudes  deride,  and  say,  It  is  the 
raving  of  enthusiasts ;  it  is  the  cry  of  fanaticism ;  and  they 
heed  it  not.  Alas,  whose  heart  now  thrills  to  the  startling 
announcement,  "The  Lord  comelli" ?  Who  looks,  and  sighs, 
and  prays  now,  for  the  return  of  the  Savior  to  our  world  ? 
Who  is  waiting  for,  as  he  is  hastening  unto,  the  coming  of  the 
day  of  God  ?  Who  is  keeping  himself  in  readiness  for  its 
solemn  revelations  ? 

My  brethren,  if  the  Son  of  man  should  come  this  week, 
this  month,  or  this  year,  would  he  find  faith  on  the  earth  ? 
Would  not  the  church  itself  be  taken  by  surprise  ?  Would 
not  such  an  event  now  come  upon  the  overwhelming  ma- 
jority of  Christ's  professed  followers  unawares  ?  And  yet, 
what  guarantee  have  we  that  the  chariot-wheels  of  the  com- 
ing King  are  not  already  rumbling  over  the  distant  worlds  ? 
Has  he  not  said,  "In  such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not,  the  Son 
of  man  cometh"  ?  "  the  day  of  the  Lord  so  cometh  as  a  thief 
in  the  night"  ?  and  "as  a  snare  shall  it  come  upon  all  them 
that  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth"  ?  Who  can  say 
that  we  are  not  liable  to  have  the  great  scenes  of  the  judg- 
ment precipitated  upon  us  at  any  moment  ?  And  shall  we 
not  be  concerned  to  have  our  minds  familiarized  with  what 
may  any  day  occur,  and  which  must  occur  sooner  or  later  ?  Is 
there  not  something  inconceivably  dreadful  in  the  thought  of 
having  that  day  come  upon  us  at  the  very  time  we  are  saying, 
"  My  Lord  delayeth  his  coming"  ?  Would  it  not  be  better  to 
be  a  little  beforehand  with  our  anticipations,  and  to  bear  the 
taunts  that  may  be  heaped  upon  us  for  our  concern,  than  to 
accommodate  ourselves  to  the  wisdom  and  sobriety  of  this 
erring  world,  and  be  finally  taken  by  surprise  and  perhaps  lose 
our  eternal  all  ?  Jesus  says,  that  "  the  Lord  of  that  servant" 
who  shall  be  found  faithless,  sleeping,  or  scoffing,  "shall  cut 
c 


34  Tll      LAST    TIMES. 


him  asunder,  and  appoint  him  his  portion  with  hypocrites, 
amid  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth."  Of  what  avail  will 
his  worldly  wisdom  and  his  fruitless  profession  be  to  him 
then  ?  What  good  will  all  his  knowledge  then  do  him  ? 
Better  that  he  had  never  known  the  way  of  righteousness,  — 
better  that  he  had  never  been  born,  —  than  amid  all  our  high 
privileges  thus  to  come  short  of  the  approbation  of  the  coming 
Judge. 

And  if  judgment  first  begin  at  us,  and  many  professing 
Christians  shall  lose  the  joys  of  the  kingdom,  "what  shall 
the  end  be  of  them  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God  ?  If  the 
righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the 
sinner  appear  ?"  With  what  surprise  and  discomfiture  shall 
the  clay  of  Christ's  coming  overtake  them  ! 

My  dear  friends,  these  arc  solemn  thoughts.  It  will  not  do 
to  trifle  with  them.  Momentous  issues  are  involved.  And 
we  know  not  how  soon  the-irrevocable  decision  shall  be  made. 
Let  us,  then,  enter  upon  the  study  of  this  mighty  subject 
with  serious  and  prayerful  hearts,  anxious  to  know  what  God 
has  been  pleased  to  reveal,  and  earnestly  set  upon  preparing 
to  meet  our  God.  And  especially  let  us  carefully  lay  to  heart 
those  impressive  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  himself  :  — 

"  Of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  man,  no,  not  the  angels 
of  heaven,  but  my  Father  only.  [Luke  :  Therefore  take 
heed  to  yourselves,  lest  at  any  time  your  hearts  be  over- 
charged with  surfeiting  and  drunkenness,  and  cares  of  this 
life,  and  so  that  day  come  upon  you  unawares.  For  as  a  snare 
shall  it  come  on  all  them  that  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth.  Watch  ye,  therefore,  and  pray  always,  that  ye  may  be 
accounted  worthy  to  escape  all  these  things  that  shall  come  to 
pass,  and  to  stand  before  the  Son  of  man  :]  [Marie  :  for  ye 
know  not  when  the  time  is.]  But  as  the  days  of  Noe  were, 
so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  be.  For  as  in  the 
days  that  were  before  the  flood,  they  were  eating  and  drink- 


"BE   YE   ALSO   READY."  35 

ing,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  until  the  day  that  Noe 
entered  into  the  ark,  and  KNEW  NOT  until  the  flood  came,  and 
took  them  all  away :  so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of 
man  be.  Then  shall  two  be  in  the  field ;  the  one  shall  be 
taken,  and  the  other  left.  Two  women  shall  be  grinding  at 
the  mill ;  the  one  shall  be  taken,  and  the  other  left.  WATCH, 

THEREFORE,   FOR    YE    KNOW    NOT    WHAT    HOUR    YOUR    LORD 

DOTH  COME.  But  know  this,  that  if  the  good  man  of  the 
house  had  known  in  what  watch  the  thief  would  come,  he 
would  have  watched,  and  would  not  have  suffered  his  house  to 
be  broken  up.  Therefore,  BE  YE  ALSO  READY  :  FOR  IN  SUCH 

AN    HOUR    AS    YE    THINK    NOT,,    THE    SON    OF    MAN    COMETH. 

Who,  then,  is  a  faithful  and  wise  servant,  whom  his  Lord 
hath  made  ruler  over  his  household,  tcfgive  them  meat  in  due 
season  ?  Blessed  is  that  servant,  whom  his  lord,  when  he 
cometh,  shall  find  so  doing.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  That  he 
shall  make  him  ruler  of  all  his  goods." 

God  help  us  to  be  faithful  and  wise  servants,  that,  when  He 
who  is  our  life  shall  appear,  we  also  may  appear  with  him  in 
glory! 


SECOND  DISCOURSE. 


HOW  CHRIST'S  COMING  is  RELATED  TO  OTHER  EVENTS — THE  MILLEX- 

NIUM WRONG    VIEWS    CORRECTED THE    FINAL    ADVENT    PREMILLEN- 

NIAL THE    POINT    ARGUED. 


LUKE  xviii.  7,  8 :  And  shall  not  God  avenge  Ids  own  elect,  which 
cry  day  and  night  unto  him,  though  lie  bear  long  with  them  f  I 
tell  you  that  he  will  avenge  them  speedily.  Nevertheless,  when  tJie 
Son  of  man  cometh,  shall  he  find  faith  on  the  earth. 

WITH  these  words  to  indicate  the  general  sphere  of  my 
remarks,  I  now  resume  the  subject  which  I  introduced  to 
your  attention  a  week  ago.  I  have  tried  to  impress  upon  you 
that  it  is  our  duty,  privilege,  and  a  source  of  comforting  edifi- 
cation, to  study  God's  gracious  revelations  concerning  "  the 
last  times."  Some  have  supposed  that  prophecy  is  mainly 
designed  for  the  conviction  of  those  who  live  when,  or  after, 
it  is  fulfilled,  and  that  the  investigation  of  it  does  not  belong 
to  those  who  live  before  that  time.  If  it  were  even  so,  I 
would  still  insist  that  we  ought  to  study  these  things,  for  the 
evident  reason  that  we  are  at  this  very  day  in  the  midst  of  the 
incipient  scenes  of  their  fulfillment.  And,  apart  from  this 
startling  fact,  I  hold  that  these  revelations  are  for  us,  and  for 
our  learning,  as  well  as  for  future  generations.  When  once 
they  have  been  fulfilled,  redemption  will  be  complete,  doubts 
and  unbelief  will  have  no  more  place,  the  saints  will  be  with 
their  King  in  their  rest,  and  no  evidences  from  fulfilled  pro- 
phecy will  be  needed  to  convince  people  of  the  existence  and 
providence  of  God,  or  of  the  truth  and  faithfulness  of  his 
36 


BUT   TWO   COMINGS    SPOKEN   OF   IN    SCRIPTURE.          37 

word.  All  this  will  be  plain  enough  then  in  each  one's  heart 
without  processes  of  reasoning  upon  the  past  to  establish  it. 
And  if  these  impressive  predictions  are  not  intended  for  our 
"reproof,  correction,  and  instruction,"  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know 
for  whom  or  for  what  they  are  intended. 

I  have  also  endeavored  to  set  forth  the  reality  and  certainty 
of  the  Savior's  return  to  this  world,  by  showing  you  the  true 
and  solid  Scriptural  basis  upon  which  this  glorious  article  of 
our  faith  reposes.  Some  say  Christ  comes  at  death,  or  when 
he  manifests  his  secret  providence  by  open  judgment.  Some 
say  Christ  comes  when  he  manifests  his  grace  in  the  conver- 
sion of  souls,  the  revival  of  languid  churches,  and  the  victo- 
ries of  his  truth.  But  it  is  very  evident  that  neither  of  these 
is  that  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  of  which  the  Scriptures  say 
so  much,  and  which  is  so  distinctly  embodied  in  all  the  creeds. 
Indeed,  I  very  much  doubt  whether  the  sacred  writers  ever 
speak  of  these  providential  and  spiritual  manifestations  as 
Christ's  coming.  I  know  of  but  two  things  to  which  the 
Bible  applies  this  language  :  the  one  is  the  incarnation,  when 
Christ  was  made  man  and  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary;  the  other 
is  his  return  from  heaven  in  the  last  times  to  judge  the  world 
in  righteousness.  The  New  Testament  tells  of  a  first  coming, 
and  a  second  coming,  and  no  more :  the  one  was  accomplished 
when  "  he  came  unto  his  own,  and  his  own  received  him 
not;"  and  the  other  will  be,  when  "he  shall  appear  THE 
SECOND  TIME  without  sin  unto  salvation."  I  find  in  all  the 
Bible  but  these  two  personal  advents  of  the  Savior  spoken  of, 
the  one  of  which  occurred  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago,  and  the  other  is  to  take  place  at  the  end  of  the  present 
dispensation.  And  all  the  passages  respecting  the  coming  of 
the  Son  of  man  which  have  not  been  fulfilled  in  his  first 
coming  apply  directly  and  only  to  his  final  coming  at  the 
judgment. 

I  proceed  now  to  inquire  at  what  stage  in  the  progress  of 
4 


38  THE    LAST    TIMES. 

the  Messiah's  earthly  kingdom  his  second  advent  is  to  be  ex- 
pected. Is  it  to  occur  after  his  kingdom  has  run  its  entire 
mundane  course,  or  does  the  ultimate  consummation  of  his 
kingdom  in  this  world  depend  upon  his  final  coming  ?  In 
other  words,  are  we  to  look  for  the  Savior's  future  personal 
advent  before  or  after  the  millennium  ? 

The  word  millennium  is  compounded  from  the  Latin,  and 
literally  means  a  thousand  years.  Its  theological  import  is 
not  very  clearly  defined.  Some  use  it  to  denote  one  class  of 
ideas,  others  to  denote  another  class,  just  as  they  adopt  this  or 
that  system  for  interpreting  the  twentieth  chapter  of  the  Re- 
velation. For  the  most  part,  however,  it  is  used  and  under- 
stood to  denote  a  future  period  of  universal  righteousness, 
liberty,  and  peace,  during  which  Satan  is  to  be  bound,  and 
Christianity  be  triumphant  throughout  the  world.  The  ques, 
tion  which  I  propose  to  consider  is,  whether  Christ  is  to  come 
personally  to  introduce  and  establish  this  glorious  condition  of 
things,  or  whether  this  triumph  of  all  that  is  good  is  to  be 
realized  before  he  comes  ? 

According  to  the  popular  belief,  the  final  advent  of  tho 
Savior  is  a  far-distant  event, — a  mysterious  and  undefined 
something  which  is  to  transpire  at  some  remote  point  in  the 
revolutions  of  ages,  long  after  the  progress  of  Christian 
knowledge,  the  developments  of  science,  and  the  march  of 
intellect,  have  made  the  world  universally  pious,  just,  and 
happy.  On  the  platform  and  in  the  pulpit,  we  hear  men 
talking  rapturously  and  hopefully  of  some  golden,  blessed  age, 
which  is  to  be  ushered  in  under  the  operation  of  existing 
instrumentalities.  By  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  the  work 
of  Christian  education,  and  the  progress  of  reform,  they  ex- 
pect the  world  to  be  converted,  Antichrist  destroyed,  Satan 
cast  out,  and  all  the  relations,  occupations,  and  pursuits  of 
men  purified,  ennobled,  and  regulated  with  justice.  This  is 
the  hope  which  poets  sing  about,  and  orators  preach  about,  as 


WRONG   VIEWS   CORRECTED.  ii9 

the  great  incentive  to  missionary  effort,  and  the  reward  of 
self-denial,  liberality,  and  prayer  in  the  good  work  of  propa- 
gating the  gospel.  And  when  once  this  glorious  era  has  come, 
and  continued  through  an  indefinite  period  of  duration,  then, 
somewhere  down  among  uncounted  ages,  the  idea  is,  that 
Christ  will  appear  in  the  heavens,  join  these  terrestrial  glories 
with  glories  celestial,  and  close  the  scene  of  grandeur  amid 
songs  and  triumphs  that  die  from  us  into  the  fathomless  pro- 
found of  eternity. 

Now,*all  this  may  be  very  poetical,  and  answer  very  well 
to  touch  off  platform  speeches.  It  certainly  is  very  flattering 
to  human  pride,  and  very  pleasant  for  the  fancy  to  dwell  upon. 
But  is  it  the  truth  of  God  ?  We  are  not  inquiring  now  for 
what  is  captivating,  and  beautiful,  and  touching  to  the  natural 
heart,  or  even  to  the  Christian's  imaginings.  We  want  to 
know  what  Jehovah  saith — what  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  hath 
revealed  concerning  these  things.  And  I  am  free  to  confess 
to  you  that  my  study  of  the  Scriptures  has  taught  me  to 
expect  a  very  different  course  and  order  of  events.  My 
Bible  tells  me  of  no  millennium  which  existing  processes  are 
to  bring  about.  Neither  does  it  tell  me  of  a  millennium 
which  is  to  precede  the  Savior's  final  advent.  The  only  mil- 
lennium I  read  of  in  the  holy  book  is  that  which  is  to  be 
introduced  by  the  glory  and  power  of  Christ's  coming,  and 
the  chief  excellence  of  which  is,  his  personal  presence  and 
reign  with  his  saints  upon  the  earth.  It  is  not  the  reign 
of  art,  science,  human  culture,  or  free  governments,  for  which 
the  Bible  teaches  me  to  look  j  nor  yet  for  the  universal 
triumph  of  Christianity  or  the  church  as  we  now  have  it ;  nor 
yet  for  the  reign  of  justice,  holiness,  or  any  mere  abstract 
principle  ;  but  for  the  personal  reign  of  Jesus  my  Lord,  when 
"all  people,  nations,  and  languages,  shall  serve  him,"  and 
shall  "come  up  unto  Jerusalem  to  worship  the  King,  the  Lord 
of  hosts."  And  that  this  millennium  may  come,  and  this 


40  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

glorious  reign  be  established,  the  Savior  himself  must  first 
come,  as  he  promised,  and  as  the  angels  declared  in  the  day 
that  he  was  taken  up  into  heaven. 

The  advent  of  Christ,  then,  for  which  I  look,  and  for  which 
I  would  have  all  men  look,  is  not  a  _pos£-millennial,  but  a  ^re- 
millennial  coming;  not  a  coming  long  hence,  after  an  era  of 
liberty  and  perfection  such  as  orators  and  poets  have  dreamed 
of,  but  a  coming  which  is  to  usher  in  and  begin  the  promised 
age  of  gold,  and  introduce  to  the  world  the  fruits  of  a  con- 
summated redemption.  It  -is  Christ's  coming  that  is'to  make 
the  millennium,  and  not  the  millennium  which  is  to  prepare 
the  world  for  Christ's  coming.  Upon  this  point  my  mind  is 
clear,  and  my  faith  too  firm  to  be  shaken.  There  is  hardly 
another  subject  in  the  Bible  upon  which  there  is  such  a  mass 
of  varied  divine  testimony  as  upon  this.  And  if  you  will  be 
at  the  pains  to  search  out  and  test  the  observations  which  I 
am  about  to  submit,  I  feel  satisfied  that  you  will  be  obliged, 
either  to  repudiate  the  Scriptures,  or  to  make  up  your  minds 
to  believe  as  I  do. 

1.  I  have  examined  the  Scriptures  with  diligence  and  care, 
and  have  had  this  subject  before  me  as  a  matter  of  study  for 
more  than  a  half-score  of  years;  and  to  this  moment  I  have 
not  found  one  passage,  and  I  do  not  believe  that  you  can  find 
one,  which,  by  any  legitimate  construction,  asserts  a  period  of 
rest,  triumph,  and  millennial  glory  anterior  to  the  great  and 
final  coming  of  our  blessed  Lord.     If  there  be  such  a  passage, 
I  will  be  obliged  to  any  one  who  will  point  it  out  to  me. 

2.  I  find  the  Scriptures  invariably  representing  the  church 
of  Christ  as  afflicted,  persecuted,  depressed,  wronged,  and  re- 
proached, until  relieved  by  the  coming  and  kingdom  of  the 
Savior  to  judge  the  world  in  righteousness.     Daniel,  in  his 
vision,  beheld  the  saints  warred  with,  and  prevailed  against, 
until  the  Ancient  of  days  came,  and  judgment  was  given  : 
(vii.  21,  22.)     The  text  distinctly  identifies  tbe  avenging  of 


THE   CHURCH   TO   SUFFER   TILL   CHRIST   COMES.  41 

God's  elect  with  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  shows 
that  his  people  shall  be  a  suffering  people  until  that  day  of 
avengernent  coines.  And  other  passages  to  the  same  effect  are 
numerous  and  strong.  If  we  look  at  the  laws  and  conditions 
of  discipleship,  we  read,  "ALL  that  vail  live  godly  in  Christ 
Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution/'  "  If  any  man  will  come 
after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross."  "  The 
servant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord.  If  they  have  persecuted 
me,  they  will  persecute  you."  "  In  the  world  ye  shall  have 
tribulation."  "  We  must  through  great  tribulation  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God."  If  we  look  at  the  accounts  of  the 
relative  strength  of  the  church,  we  always  find  it  consisting 
of  a  depressed  minority.  "  Strait  is  the  gate  and  narrow 
is  the  way  that  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find 
it."  "  Fear  not,  little  flock."  "  Many  are  called,  butfcic  are 
chosen."  If  we  look  at  the  promises  of  the  gospel,  we  find 
them  nearly  all  framed  to  a  condition  of  suffering,  tempta- 
tion, and  affliction  on  the  part  of  those  to  whom  they  are  ad- 
dressed. "  He  that  shall  endure  unto  the  end,  the  same  shall 
be  saved."  "  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of 
the  hidden  manna."  "  Think  it  not  strange,  concerning  the 
fiery  trial  which  is  to  try  you,  as  though  some  strange  thing 
happened  unto  you ;  but  rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers 
of  Christ's  sufferings."  "Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad  • 
for  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven ;  for  so  persecuted  they  the 
prophets  which  were  before  you."  Are  we  to  be  rewarded  for 
our  toils  and  labors  in  the  gospel  ?  It  will  only  be  "  when 
the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father."  Are 
we  to  inherit  the  kingdom?  It  is  only  "when  the  Son  of 
man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with 
him."  Is  the  church  waiting  in  hope?  It  is  "for  the 
ci niiing  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Did  Paul  look  for  "a. 
crown  of  righteousness?"  It  was  only  to  be  given  him  "at 
that  day."  It  is  only  when  "  he  shall  appear  a  second  time," 


42  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

that  ho  will  appear  "unto  salvation."  Every  thing  of  glad 
hope  which  the  gospel  gives  us  points  to  the  final  advent. 
"  The  whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  together  in  pain 
until  now:  and  even  we  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves, 
waiting  for  (the  resurrection)  the  redemption  of  our  body." 
There  is  no  promise  of  rest,  no  Sabbath-keeping,  for  the 
dwellers  upon  earth,  until  our  Joshua  comes  and  gives  us  the 
glorious  land.  Every  thing  remains  disjointed,  sickly,  afflicted, 
until  then.  And  amid  all  these  groans,  reproaches,  and  trou- 
bles which  roll  and  dash  upon  the  church  until  they  break 
against  the  throne  of  the  returning  Redeemer,  we  look  in  vain 
for  that  sunny  continent  of  universal  peace  and  jubilee  of 
which  men  speak. 

3.  The  Holy  Scriptures,  so  far  from  promising  to  us  a 
millennium  of  universal  righteousness  before  Christ  comes, 
invariably  represent  the  world  as  abounding,  if  not  ever  grow- 
ing, in  wickedness,  even  up  to  the  very  moment  of  his  coming. 
Look  at  the  text.  Though  in  the  form  of  a  question,  it  yet 
contains  the  strongest  kind  of  asseveration,  that  the  coming 
Judge  shall  find  the  world  awfully  apostate.  "  When  the  Son 
of  man  cometh,  shall  lie  find  faith  on  the  earth?"  "That  day 
shall  not  come  except  there  be  a  falling  away  first."  Many 
servants  shall  say,  "My  Lord  delayeth  his  coming;  and  shall 
begin  to  smite  their  fellow-servants,  and  to  eat  and  drink  with 
the  drunken;  and  the  Lord  shall  come  in  a  day  when  they 
look  not  for  him,  and  cut  them  asunder,  and  appoint  them 
their  portion  with  hypocrites."  " Evil  men  and  seducers 
shall  wax  icorse  and  worse,  deceiving  and  being  deceived." 
"The  Spirit  speaketh  expressly,  that  in  the  latter  times  some 
shall  depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits 
and  doctrines  of  devils;  speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy,  having 
their  conscience  seared  with  a  hot  iron."  "  This  know  also, 
that  in  the  last  days  perilous  times  shall  come.  For  men  shall 
be  lovers  of  their  own  selves,  covetous,  boasters,  proud,  bias- 


SIN    WILL    ABOUND   TILL    CHRIST    COMES.  43 

pheruei-s,  disobedient  to  parents,  unthankful,  unholy,  without 
natural  affection,  truce-breakers,  false  accusers,  incontinent, 
fierce,  despisers  of  those  that  are  good,  traitors,  heady,  high- 
minded,  lovers  of  pleasures  more  than  lovers  of  God;  having 
a  form  of  godliness,  but  denying  the  power  thereof."  "  Remem- 
ber ye  the  words  which  were  spoken  before  of  the  apostles  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  how  that  they  told  you  there  should  be 
mockers  in  the  last  time,  who  should  walk  after  their  own  ungodly 
lusts.  These  be  they  who  separate  themselves,  sensual,  having 
not  the  Spirit."  "Knowing  this  first,  that  there  shall  come  in 
the  last  days  scoffers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts,  and  saying, 
Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming?  for  since  the  fathers  fell 
asleep,  all  things  continue  as  they  were  from  the  beginning  of 
the  creation."  "  The  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already  work : 
only  he  who  now  letteth  will  let,  until  he  be  taken  out  of  the 
way ;  and  then  shall  that  Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the  Lord 
will  consume  with  the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  shall  destroy 
with  the  brightness  of  his  coming :  even  him,  whose  coming 
is  after  the  working  of  Satan,  with  all  power,  and  signs, 
and  lying  wonders,  and  with  all  deceivableness  of  unright- 
eousness in  them  that  perish;  because  they  received  not 
the  love  of  the  truth,  that  they  might  be  saved.  And  for 
this  cause  God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion,  that  they 
should  believe  a  lie,  that  they  all  might  be  damned  who  be- 
lieved not  the  truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness." 
These  are  dark  and  awful  descriptions,  and  they  stretch  down 
from  apostolic  times  to  Christ's  own  personal  coming.  In  the 
Revelation  also,  under  three  distinct  streams  of  prediction, — 
seals,  trumpets,  and  vials, — we  have  a  series  of  successive  and 
ever-augmenting  defections,  revolts,  apostasies,  and  usurpa- 
tions, which  are  ended  only  with  the  tremendous  judgments  of 
the  day  of  the  Savior's  personal  appearing.  Where,  then,  is 
that  glowing  period  of  universal  righteousness,  liberty  and 


44  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

peace,  which  some  are  looking  for  previous  to  our  Saviour's 
final  coming  ? 

4.  The  Savior's  prophetic  discourse,  which  is  the  fountain 
of  all  these  prophecies  concerning  the  last  times  and  the 
second  advent,  allows  no  place  for  a  period  of  millennial  glory 
anterior  to  the  personal  arrival  of  the  Son  of  man.  That  dis- 
course, running  through  the  twenty-fourth  and  fifth  chapters 
of  Matthew,  gives  us  a  luminous  sketch,  by  the  hand  of  the 
great  Master  of  Prophets,  of  the  leading  aspects  of  the  divine 
administrations  from  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  to  the  con- 
summation of  all  things.  The  Savior  there  describes  most 
vividly  and  plainly  all  the  great  signs  which  are  to  precede, 
attend,  and  follow  his  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with 
great  power  and  glory.  And  if  it  is  true  that  his  final  advent 
is  to  be  preceded  by  a  thousand  years  of  universal  righteous- 
ness and  peace,  it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  he  would  have 
entirely  omitted  all  allusion  to  it  in  a  prophecy  so  compre- 
hensive, and  yet  so  minute  in  its  details.  Such  an  inter- 
vening millennium  would  have  been  a  "sign"  so  notable  that 
it  could  not  have  been  passed  by.  And  yet  we  search  in  vain 
through  all  that  wonderful  discourse  for  the  smallest  hint  con- 
cerning it.  Nay,  he  specifically  describes  a  great  and  unpre- 
cedented tribulation,  beginning  with  the  siege  and  fall  of 
Jerusalem,  and  stretching  on  "  until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles 
be  fulfilled,"  and  tells  us  that  "IMMEDIATELY  AFTER  THE 
TRIBULATION  OF  THOSE  DAYS  shall  the  sun  be  darkened,  and 
the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall  from 
heaven,  and  the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken;  and 
tlien  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man  in  heaven;  and 
then  shall  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  mourn,  and  they  shall  see 
the  Son  of  man  coming."  There  can  be  no  millennium  of 
peace  whilst  "tribulation"  lasts;  but  in  this  account  "tribula- 
tion" only  ceases  at  the  point  when  the  signs  of  Christ's 
immediate  advent  appear.  The  only  space  between  the 


PARABLE   OF   THE   WHEAT   AND   TARES.  45 

tribulation  and  the  terrifying  signs  of  the  judgment  is 
described  by  the  adverb  euOsios  —  instantly,  immediately, 
quickly,  without  the  intervention  of  any  other  event.  To 
make  that  adverb  include  a  millennium  would  be  to  contradict 
its  whole  meaning,  and  to  adopt  a  principle  of  interpretation 
which  would  reduce  all  language  to  uncertainty.  But  we  must 
do  it  to  have  the  millennium  before  Christ  comes.  Nay  more; 
as  if  forever  to  cut  up  by  the  roots  all  hope  of  a  period  of 
universal  righteousness  and  peace  prior  to  the  judgment,  the 
Savior  adds,  "As  the  days  of  Noe  were,  so  shall  also  the  coming 
of  the  Son  of  man  le."  What  were  the  characteristics  that 
marked  the  last  periods  of  the  antediluvian  world  ?  Was  the 
flood  preceded  by  a  millennium  of  righteousness  and  peace,  or 
a  millennium  of  universal  apostasy,  sensuality,  wickedness  and 
debasement?  Let  the  word  of  God  answer.  "And  God  saw 
that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the  earth,  and  that 
every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil 
continually.  And  it  repented  the  Lord  that  he  had  made 
man  on  the  earth,  and  it  grieved  him  at  his  heart.  The  earth 
also  was  corrupt  before  God ;  and  the  earth  was  filled  with 
violence.  And  God  looked  upon  the  earth,  and  behold,  it  was 
corrupt :  for  all  flesh  had  corrupted  his  way  upon  the  earth." 
Such  is  the  awful  portrait  which  inspiration  gives  of  those 
early  times;  and  He  who  cannot  lie  says,  "  So  SHALL  IT  BE 

ALSO  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  THE  SON  OF  MAN  !" 

5.  The  Scriptures  explicitly  teach  us  that  the  world  shall  re- 
main in  a  mixed  condition,  in  which  the  good  and  the  bad  shall 
grow  together  and  mature  side  by  side  until  the  day  of  judg- 
ment. Upon  this  point,  the  parable  of  the  wheat  and  the  tares 
is  a  perpetual  demonstration.  Much  as  men  have  controverted 
over  that  parable,  no  man  can  separate  from  its  teachings  this 
clear  and  strong  prediction,  that  the  wicked  shall  live  and 
flourish  as  long  as  this  present  dispensation  endures.  Jesus 
himself  has  so  explained  and  applied  it.  "The  field  is  the 


46  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

world."  In  that  same  field  are  both  wheat  and  tares,  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Kingdom  and  the  children  of  the  wicked  one. 
"Both  grow  together  until  the  harvest."  "The  harvest  is  the 
end  of  the  world."  And,  until  that  end  comes,  no  man  or  angel 
can  uproot  or  remove  those  tares.  There  they  are,  growing  and 
bearing  fruit;  and  there  they  will  continue  to  grow  and  flourish 
until  Christ  comes  with  his  reapers  to  wind  up  this  present 
economy.  There  is  no  triumphing  of  the  wheat  over  the 
tares;  no  monopolizing  of  the  field  by  the  righteous;  no 
trampling  down,  subjugation,  conversion  or  eradication  of  the 
hosts  of  the  wicked,  until  then.  What  could  more  directly, 
positively  and  unequivocally  prove,  that  there  is  to  be  no 
millennium  of  universal  righteousness,  liberty  and  peace,  before 
Christ  comes  ?  In  the  millennium,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  to 
"fill  all  the  earth."  "All  people,  nations  aud  languages" 
are  then  to  serve  Jesus,  "and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and 
obey  him."  The  knowledge  of  the  Lord  is  to  cover  the  earth 
as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  "They  shall  not  teach  every  man 
his  neighbor,  and  every  man  his  brother,  saying,  Know  the 
Lord  :  for  all  shall  know  him  from  the  least  to  the  greatest." 
"Every  knee  shall  bow,  and  every  tongue  confess,  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father."  And  yet 
this  selfsame  holy  record  teaches  us  that  the  devil  will  have 
his  children  here,  and  that  they  shall  grow  and  flourish  until 
the  day  of  Christ's  coming  to  judge  the  world.  Is  not  the 
demonstration  complete,  that  the  millennium  docs  not  com- 
mence until  after  Christ  comes  ? 

6.  It  is  self  evident,  that  there  can  be  no  millennium  of 
universal  righteousness,  liberty  and  peace,  whilst  the  great 
autichristian  powers,  and  the  confederations  of  usurpation  and 
wickedness,  continue  to  defile  and  oppress  the  world  with  their 
foul  presence  and  work.  How  can  there  be  a  millennium 
whilst  "the  mystery  of  iniquity"  lives  and  operates  "after  the 
working  of  Satan,  with  all  power,  and  signs,  and  lying  won- 


DURATION  AND  END  Or  THE  MAN  OF  SIN.      47 

ders,  and  with  all  deceivableness  of  unrighteousness"  ?  How 
can  there  be  a  millennium  whilst  the  domineering,  blasphemous 
and  persecuting  power  in  Daniel,  which  speaks  "  great  words 
against  the  Most  High,"  and  wears  out  the  people  of  God, 
continues  making  war  with  the  saints  and  prevailing  against 
them?  How  can  there  be  a  millennium  whilst  corrupt  and 
oppressive  governments  still  usurp  the  prerogatives  of  God, 
and  array  themselves  against  liberty  and  truth?  How  can 
there  be  a  millennium  whilst  nations  gather  themselves  to 
battle,  and  "  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  great  men,  and 
the  rich  men,  and  the  chief  captains,  and  the  mighty  men," 
continue  to  make  themselves  obnoxious  to  "the  wrath  of  the 
Lamb"  ?  The  thing  is  impossible.  The  very  idea  is  prepos- 
terous. And  yet  I  will  prove  to  you  that  the  Scriptures 
explicitly  teach  that  these  antichristian  and  usurping  powers 
will  live  on  till  Christ  comes,  and  that  they  shall  only  be 
destroyed  when  he  shall  judge  the  world. 

Look  at  what  is  said  of  the  duration  and  end  of  "the  Man 
of  sin,"  in  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians.  The 
apostle  tells  us  that  it  had  already  begun  to  work  in  his  day. 
The  paganism  of  the  Roman  government  for  a  while  stood  in 
its  way.  But  the  Spirit  said,  that  when  this  hindrance  should 
be  removed,  "then  shall  that  Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the 
Lord  shall  consume  with  the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  shall 
destroy" — WHEN  and  HOW?  By  the  gradual  spread  of  evan- 
gelical religion  ?  By  the  present  processes  of  bringing  men 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth?  No,  no,  no;  "WITH  THE 

BRIGHTNESS  OF  HIS  COMING" — (jrj  £-i<favz(a,  TTJ?  -apovffias 
awroy ;)  literally,  BY  THE  APPEARING  OF  HIS  OWN  PRESENCE. 
Here,  then,  is  positive  proof  from  the  word  of  God.  that  this 
Man  of  sin  is  to  continue  in  existence  until  Christ's  final 
coming,  and  is  to  be  consumed  and  utterly  destroyed  only  by 
the  personal  advent  and  appearance  of  the  Son  of  God  himself. 
It  is  useless  to  tell  us  that  the  "coming"  here  spoken  of  do- 


48  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

notes  a  mere  figurative  or  providential  interposition  of  the 
Savior.  The  whole  passage  is  sternly  prosaic  and  free  from 
metaphors,  and  the  words  employed  are  never  elsewhere  used 
figuratively  in  the  New  Testament.  Eiclipavtia  is  used  in  five 
other  places,  and  is  in  each  one  universally  understood  as  de- 
noting a  real  appearing, — a  personal  and  visible  manifestation. 
Ilapooffia  is  used  in  twenty-three  other  places  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  in  every  one  of  them  denotes  a  literal  presence — a  personal 
advent.  Both  these  words  as  strongly  and  directly  describe  a 
real,  visible,  and  personal  coming  as  any  in  the  Greek  lan- 
guage; and  when  used  with  reference  to  a  person,  they  cannot 
mean  any  thing  but  a  real  presence  and  advent  of  that  person. 
"  The  coming  of  Stephanus,  and  Fortunatus,  and  Achaicus," 
means  the  personal  advent  and  presence  of  these  men.  "The 
coming  of  Titus"  is  the  personal  advent  and  presence  of  Titus. 
And  so  "Christ's  own  coming"  is  the  advent  and  presence  of 
Christ  himself,  in  his  own  proper  person.  And  if  the  words 
"appearance  of  his  presence,"  or  "the  appearing  of  his  own 
advent"  do  not  mean  the  visible,  literal  and  personal  revela- 
tion or  manifestation  of  himself,  it  is  impossible  to  employ 
terms  that  can  express  it,  and  human  language  is  incapable 
of  being  interpreted  on  any  fixed  and  definite  principles. 
Wherever  else  the  word  e-iyavsia  occurs  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, all  men  take  it  as  conveying  the  unmistakable  idea  of 
a  real  appearing.  Wherever  else  the  word  -xapouaia  occurs 
in  the  New  Testament,  there  is  no  disputing  the  fact  that  it 
means  arrival,  presence,  advent ;  and  when  applied  to  persons, 
a  personal  arrival,  presence,  or  advent.  Either  of  these  words 
is  held  sufficient  in  other  passages  to  prove  a  real  and  personal 
appearing  and  presence.  And  when  both  are  united,  as  in  the 
case  before  us,  how  is  it  possible  that  they  should  mean  any 
thing  less  than  the  literal,  real  and  personal  arrival  and  pre- 
sence of  Jesus,  with  reference  to  whom  they  are  used  ?  The 
Man  of  sin,  then,  is  to  live  on  until  Christ  himself  shall  come, 


"THE  LITTLE  HORN."  49 

and  shall  be  destroyed  only  by  the  appearing  of  the  Savior's 
own  personal  advent.  And  so  the  most  thorough  and  able  inter- 
preters have  uniformly  taught.  Luther  says,  "  They  (the  Man 
of  sin  and  his  rabble)  shall  be  preserved  until  the  coming  of 
Christ.  Let  us  therefore  pray  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  he  would  hasten  that  day  of  the  glorious 
apjtcaring  of  his  Son,  which  he  has  promised,  in  which  he  has 
declared  that  this  Wicked  one,  this  Man  of  sin  and  son  of  per- 
dition, shall  be  destroyed."  Archbishop  Usher  says,  "The 
glorious  appearing  of  the  Son  of  God  in  the  latter  day  shall  be 
the  overthrow  of  Antichrist,  whence  we  gather  that  before  the 
last  day  he  shall  not  be  utterly  consumed."  Robert  Fleming 
remarks,  "Though  the  Lord  will  gradually  consume  or  waste 
this  great  adversary  by  the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  yet  he  will  not 
sooner  abolish  him  than  by  the  appearing  of  his  own  presence, 
as  I  choose  to  render  and  understand  the  words,  Thes.  ii.  2-8." 
And  Melancthon,  Milton,  Wesley,  Watts,  Chalmers,  Bonar, 
Elliott,  and  other  men  of  piety  and  learning,  have  expressed 
themselves  to  the  same  effect;  all  showing  that  there  can  be 
no  millennium  of  peace  and  righteousness  before  Christ  conies. 
Look  next  at  what  is  said  concerning  the  destiny  of  the 
blasphemous  and  persecuting  power  denoted  by  "the  little 
horn"  in  the  visions  of  Daniel.  Whether  that  presumptuous 
power  is  the  same  as  Paul's  "Man  of  sin,"  matters  not  in  this 
connection.  Its  existence  is  certainly  incompatible  with  the 
idea  of  universal  righteousness,  liberty  and  peace;  and  the 
epoch  of  its  end  is  the  epoch  of  the  final  advent  and  the 
judgment.  The  prophet  distinctly  states  concerning  the 
eleventh  horn,  "  even  of  that  horn  that  had  eyes,  and  a  mouth 
that  spake  very  great  (presumptuous)  things,  whose  look  was 
more  stout  than  his  fellows;  I  beheld,  and  the  same  horn 
made  war  with  the  saints,  and  prevailed  against  them,  UNTIL 
THE  ANCIENT  OF  DAYS  CAME,  AND  JUDGMENT  WAS  GIVEN 
TO  THE  SAINTS  OF  THE  MOST  HIGH,  when  the  time  came 


50  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

that  the  saints  should  possess  the  kingdom."  This  language 
is  very  plain ;  but  to  render  it  still  more  unmistakable,  an 
angel  interprets  the  vision  to  the  prophet,  and  further  says 
of  this  little  horn,  "  He  shall  speak  great  words  against  the 
Most  High,  and  shall  wear  out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High, 
and  shall  presume  to  alter  appointed  seasons  and  the  law,  and 
they  shall  be  given  into  his  hand  until  a  time,  times,  and  the 
division  of  time.  But  THE  JUDGMENT  SHALL  SIT,  WHEN  his 
dominion  shall  be  taken  away,  to  be  wasted  and  destroyed." 
(See  Wintle's  translation.)  Let  the  impious  and  persecuting 
power  of  the  little  horn,  then,  be  what  it  may,  the  word  of 
God  says  that  it  will  live  on  till  the  Ancient  of  days  comes, 
and  the  judgment  sits,  and  the  suffering  saints  enter  into  their 
kingdom. 

Look  also  at  the  great  ten-horned  beast  upon  which  this 
presumptuous  little  horn  grew.  Daniel  says  it  was  "  dreadful 
and  terrible,  and  strong  exceedingly;  and  it  had  great  iron 
teeth :  it  devoured  and  brake  in  pieces,  and  trampled  upon 
the  remains  with  its  feet."  The  interpreting  angel  says  that 
this  beast  is  the  fourth  great  kingdom  upon  the  earth,  which 
"  shall  devour  the  whole  earth,  and  shall  tread  it  down,  and 
break  it  in  pieces."  Surely  there  can  be  no  universal  reign  of 
righteousness,  liberty  and  peace,  while  such  a  power  remains  and 
triumphs.  And  yet  its  end  is  particularly  given  as  contempo- 
raneous with  the  destruction  of  the  little  horn,  and  the  final 
advent  of  the  Son  of  God.  The  time  when  its  thrones  were 
cast  down,  as  beheld  in  the  vision,  is  the  time  when  "  the 
Ancient  of  days  did  sit,  whose  garment  was  white  as  snow, 
and  the  hair  of  his  head  like  the  pure  wool,  his  throne  the 
fiery  flame,  and  his  wheels  the  ardent  fire.  A  fiery  stream 
issued  and  trailed  forth  before  him,  thousand  thousands  minis- 
tered unto  him,  and  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  assisted 
before  him ;  THE  JUDMENT  SAT,  and  the  books  were  opened." 
It  was  only  then  that  "  the  beast  ioas  slain,  and  his  body  de- 


THE    TF.N-IIiilVNF.il    F.K.YST.  51 

stroi/cd,  and  f/iren  to  thr  uiirnin;/  flame."  And  that  this 
judgment  and  destruction  is  to  take  place  in  the  period  of  the 
personal  coming  of  the  Savior,  is  also  explicitly  stated.  "  I 
saw,"  says  Daniel,  "  and  behold,  one  like  the  Son  of  man 
came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  there  was  given  him 
dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations 
and  languages,  should  serve  him :  his  dominion  is  an  ever- 
lasting dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom 
that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed."  The  prophet  here  evi- 
dently refers  back  to  a  previous  vision,  and  identifies  this 
kingdom  of  the  descended  Lord  with  that  referred  to  in  the 
second  chapter,  where  it  is  said,  that  "  in  the  days  of  these 
7.VH//S,"  the  very  powers  symbolized  by  the  ten-horned  beast, 
"  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  which  shall 
never  be  destroyed :  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to 
other  people,  but  IT  SHALL  BREAK  IN  PIECES  AND  CONSUME 

ALL    THESE    KINGDOMS,    AND    IT    SHALL    STAND    FOREVER." 

Let  any  man  look  at  these  divine  revelations  with  an  unbiased 
mind,  and  he  cannot  escape  the  fact  that  the  personal  ad- 
vent of  Christ,  the  day  of  judgment,  and  the  ultimate  de- 
struction of  these  great  antichristian  powers,  are  all  connected 
together  in  one  and  the  same  great  epoch  of  time,  leaving  no 
room  for  the  millennium  anterior  to  the  Savior's  coming. 

If  we  look  to  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the  Revelation,  we 
again  find  the  setting  up  of  the  reign  of  Christ  over  the 
nations,  the  great  day  of  God's  wrath,  the  time  of  the  judging 
of  the  dead  to  give  reward  to  prophets  and  saints,  and  the  de- 
struction of  them  that  destroy  or  cornqrt  the  earth,  all  con- 
nected together  in  the  same  period.  The  one  is  made  syn- 
chronous with  the  other.  And  all  belong  to  the  epoch  of  the 
sounding  of  the  last  trumpet,  when  the  whole  mystery  of 
God  is  to  be  finished,  as  he  hath  declared  to  his  servants  the 
prophets. 

So  also  in  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Revelation.     The  ten- 


52  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

horned  wild  beast,  which  ascended  out  of  the  pit,  and  whose 
doom  is  to  go  into  perdition,  and  "  the  false  prophet  that 
wrought  miracles  before  him,"  both,  with  their  deceived  and 
infatuated  followers,  are  still  found  alive  and  vigorous,  and 
arrayed  against  the  Lamb  and  his  adherents,  up  to  the  very 
time  when  the  heavens  open,  and  the  mighty  Son  of  God 
comes  forth  to  tread  the  winepress  of  the  fierceness  and  wrath 
of  Almighty  God. 

Let  men  dream,  then,  as  they  may,  the  revelations  of  God 
are  certain  and  sure.  Antichrist  shall  live  till  Christ  comes. 
Sin,  tyranny  and  usurpation  shall  continue  as  long  as  the 
present  dispensation.  And  persecution  and  iniquity  shall  not 
cease  until  the  Son  of  man  cometh  to  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness.  IT  FOLLOWS,  THEN,  THAT  CHRIST  WILL  COME 

BEFORE  THE  MILLENNIUM. 

7.  But  let  me  direct  your  attention  to  yet  another  Scrip- 
tural consideration  bearing  upon  this  subject.  What  I  have 
said  is  enough ;  but  the  point  is  so  momentous  as  to  warrant 
the  fullest  accumulation  of  testimonies.  It  involves  many 
matters  of  transcendent  interest  to  the  children  of  men,  and 
we  should  spare  no  patience  in  probing  it  to  its  very  depths. 
We  can  gain  nothing  by  the  indulgence  of  false  hopes.  It  is 
the  truth  alone  that  shall  not  fail  or  disappoint  us.  Vast 
numbers  of  people  believe  that  we  shall  have  the  millennium 
before  Christ  comes.  In  this  I  consider  them  mistaken.  It 
accordingly  becomes  me  to  make  a  full  exhibit  of  the  grounds 
upon  which  I  reject  their  dreams.  I  have  shown,  from  the 
Scriptures,  that  the  church  is  to  remain  in  a  depressed  con- 
dition until  Christ  comes ;  that  the  world  is  to  abound  and 
grow  in  wickedness  for  the  same  length  of  time;  that  the 
Savior's  great  prophecy  leaves  no  room  for  the  millennium 
prior  to  the  second  advent;  that  the  world  is  to  contain  a 
mixed  population  of  good  and  bad  until  the  great  harvest  of 
the  last  day;  and  that  Antichrist  and  the  great  oppressing  and 


THE    SECOND    CHAPTER    OF    ISAIAH.  53 

persecuting  powers  are  to  be  destr.  yed  only  by  the  personal 
intervention  of  Christ  when  he  shall  come  the  second  time. 
And  I  will  yet  prove  to  you,  by  the  same  divine  authorities, 
that  the  general  conversion  of  the  world  to  obedience  to  the 
Son  of  God,  which  the  idea  of  the  millennium  implies,  is  to 
be  effected  only  when  Christ  comes. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  passage  that  is  more  frequently  quoted 
in  proof  of  the  final  and  universal  triumph  of  Christianity 
than  the  second  chapter  of  Isaiah.  God  there  says,  "  It  shall 
come  to  pass  in  the  last  days  that  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's 
house  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and 
be  exalted  above  the  hills;  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it. 
And  many  people  shall  go  and  say,  Come  ye,  let  us  go  up  to 
the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  to  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob, 
and  he  will  teach  us  of  his  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  his 
paths.  In  that  day  a  man  shall  cast  his  idols  of  silver,  and 
his  idols  of  gold,  which  they  made  each  one  for  himself  to 
worship,  to  the  moles  and  to  the  bats.  The  Lord  alone  shall 
be  exalted  in  that  day;  and  the  idols  he  shall  utterly  abolish." 
This  is  a  grand  and  glowing  promise ;  and,  as  surely  as  God 
lives,  it  will  be  fulfilled.  But  icJtcn  shall  these  things  come 
to  pass  ?  A  thousand  years  before  Christ  comes  ?  Not  at  all. 
It  is  to  be  when  Il7ie  shall  judge  among  the  nations;"  when 
men  shall  "enter  into  the  rock  and  hide  in  the  dust  for  fear 
of  the  Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  his  majesty" — in  "  THE 
DAY  OF  THE  LORD ;"  when  "the  loftiness  of  man  shall  be 
bowed  down,  and  the  haughtiness  of  men  shall  be  made  low;" 
"WHEN  HE  ARISETH  TO  SHAKE  TERRIBLY  THE  EARTH." 
How  strange  that  men  should  throw  out  of  this  prophecy 
these  plain  and  distinct  allusions  to  the  time,  which  unques- 
tionably identify  these  glorious  achievements  with  the  day  of 
judgment  and  the  Savior's  own  personal  manifestation  !  Why 
should  men  seek  the  caves  and  clefts  of  the  mountains  to  hide 

from  the  Lord  and  the  glory  of  his  majestv,  if  he  is  not  then 

5* 


54  THE   LAST    TIMES. 

to  be  personally  revealed  ?  What  is  "the  day  of  the  Lord" 
but  the  day  of  Christ's  appearing  for  judgment  ?  What  is 
his  rising  to  shake  terribly  the  earth,  and  to  bring  the  nations 
to  account,  but  the  coming  of  the  great  King  with  his  re- 
wards with  him  ?  And  yet  it  is  distinctly  stated,  that  it  is 
only  THEN  that  the  Lord's  house  is  to  be  supremely  exalted, 
and  the  nations  learn  war  no  more. 

People  also  look  and  pray  for  the  millennium  as  a  time 
when  Christ  shall  reign  the  King  of  nations,  as  he  now  reigns 
the  King  of  saints.  But  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  to 
be  thie  kingdoms  of  Jesus  only  when  he  shall  finally  come. 
Daniel  says,  "  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and  behold,  one  like 
the  Son  of  man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to 
the  Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before  him ; 
and  there  was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  king- 
dom, that  all  people,  nations,  and  languages  should  serve 
him."  Here  is  a  picture  of  the  Savior's  investiture  with  the 
universal  sovereignty  of  the  earth ;  but  it  is  specifically  con- 
nected with  his  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven.  John  also 
"  heard  great  voices  in  heaven,  saying,  The  kingdoms  of  this 
world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  even  of  Christ ; 
and  he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever."  But  it  was  only  after 
the  last  trump  had  sounded,  and  the  time  of  wrath,  resurrec- 
tion and  judgment  had  come :  (Rev.  xi.  15-18.)  He  also 
saw  thrones,  and  the  martyrs  and  saints  seated  on  them,  Satan 
bound  from  deceiving  the  nations,  and  Jesus  reigning  with 
his  holy  ones ;  but  it  was  only  after  the  opening  of  the  hea- 
vens, and  the  personal  advent  of  Him  who  had  on  his  vesture 
and  on  his  thigh  a  name  written,  King  of  Itings,  and  Lord  of 
lords :  (Rev.  xix.  20.) 

In  the  twenty-second  Psalm  we  read  that  the  son  of  David 
"shall  have  dominion  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river  unto 
the  ends  of  the  earth.  They  that  dwell  in  the  wilderness  shall 
bow  before  him.  Yea,  all  kings  shall  fall  down  before  him; 


SUNDRY   BIBLE    AUTHORITIES.  55 

all  nations  shall  serve  him."  But  it  is  only  when  "lie  shall 
judge  the  people  with  righteousness;"  when  "He  SHALL  COME 
DOWN." 

In  the  second  Psalm  Jehovah  says  to  his  only-begotten,  "I 
shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession."  But  the 
time  is  also  declared  to  he  when  "/  have  set  my  King  upon 
my  holy  hill  of  Zion." 

In  the  sixty-sixth  chapter  of  Isaiah,  God  says,  "  It  shall 
come,  that  I  will  gather  all  nations  and  tongues;  and  they 
shall  come  and  see  my  glory."  But  it  is  only  when  "THE 
LORD  WILL  COME  WITH  FIRE,  and  with  his  chariots  like  a 
whirlwind,  to  render  his  anger  with  fury,  and  his  rebukes 
with  /lames  of  fire."  Zechariah  also  says,  that  "  The  Lord 
shall  be  King  over  all  the  earth."  But  it  is  only  after  "  the 
Lord  shall  GO  FORTH,  and  his  feet  shall  stand  upon  the 
mount  of  Olives,  ichich  is  before  Jerusalem  on  the  east," — in 
the  great  "DAY  OF  THE  LORD." 

It  is  also  given  as  one  of  the  glories  of  the  millennium, 
and  essential  to  it,  that  the  Jewish  race  is  then  to  be  entirely 
converted  to  the  Messiah,  and  made  a  holy  people.  Paul  says, 
11  All  Israel  shall  be  saved."  The  angel  that  announced  the 
Savior's  first  advent  said  of  him,  "He  shall  be  great,  and 
shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the  Highest,  and  the  Lord  shall 
give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father  David.  AND  HE 
SHALL  REIGN  OVER  THE  HOUSE  OF  JACOB  FOREVER."  And 

yet  it  is  explicitly  stated  that  this  shall  be  only  when  he  shall 
finally  appear  again  in  our  world.  Jesus  says,  "Jerusalem 
shall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  until  the  times  of  the 
Gentiles  be  fulfilled ;  and  then  shall  they  see  the  Son  of  man 
coming  in  a  cloud  with  power  and  great  glory."  "  They 
shall  be  mine,  saith  the  Lord,  IN  THAT  DAY  when  I  make  up 
my  jewels:"  (Mai.  iii.  17.)  When  the  Lord  shall  arise  and 
have  mercy  on  Zion,  says  the  Psalmist,  when  the  set  time  to 


56  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

favor  her  is -come,  "when  the  Lord  shall  build  up  Zion,  HE 
SHALL  APPEAR  IN  HIS  GLORY."  We  read  in  Micah,  "  I  will 
surely  assemble  all  of  thee,  0  Jacob ;  I  will  surely  gather  the 
remnant  of  Israel :  I  will  put  them  together  as  the  sheep  of 
Bozrah,  as  the  flock  in  the  midst  of  their  fold."  But  when 
this  is  to  be  done,  we  read,  also,  that  "  their  King  shall  pass 
before  them,  even  THE  LORD  on  the  head  of  them."  Jerusa- 
lem shall  "arise  and  shine."  "The  Gentiles  shall  come  to 
her  light,  and  kings  to  the  brightness  of  her  rising."  But  it 
is  only  when  "  the  Redeemer  SHALL  COME,"  and  "  the  Lord 
shall  arise  upon  her,  and  his  glory  shall  be  SEEN  :"  (Isa.  lix. 
60.)  The  Lord  says,  "  I  will  pour  upon  the  house  of  David, 
and  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  the  spirit  of  grace 
and  supplication ;"  but,  at  that  same  time,  "  THEY  SHALL 

LOOK     UPON     HIM     WHOM     THEY     HAVE     PIERCED:"    (Zech. 

xii.  11.) 

My  brethren,  is  not  this  enough  ?  Where  is  the  founda- 
tion on  which  men  expect  a  millennium  of  universal  right- 
eousness, liberty  and  peace,  before  the  personal  return  of  our 
ascended  Lord  ?  What  do  the  most  noted  of  scholars  and 
saints  tell  you  upon  the  subject?  Hear  our  own  Luther, 
whose  name  has  been  "  ploughed  into  the  hearts  of  millions, 
and  on  the  brightest  place  in  the  roll  of  the  illustrious  dead." 
"  Some  say,"  says  he,  "  that  before  the  latter  days,  the  whole 
world  shall  become  Christians.  THIS  is  A  FALSEHOOD 
FORGED  BY  SATAN,  that  he  might  darken  sound  doctrine. 
Beware,  therefore,  of  this  delusion."  So  also  thought  the 
great  Melancthon.  "  The  true  church,"  says  he,  "  will  always 
suffer  persecution  from  the  wicked  to  the  end  of  time,  and  in 
the  church  itself  the  good  and  the  evil  will  continue  blended 
together."  He  expected  Antichrist  to  live  till  the  advent 
and  resurrection.  The  intrepid  Knox,  the  champion  of  the 
Scottish  Reformation,  says  of  this  world's  universal  reform, 
"It  never  was,  nor  yet  shall  be,  TILL  THAT  RIGHTEOUS  KING 


OPINIONS    OF   EMINENT    THEOLOGIANS.  57 

AND  JUDGE  APPEAR  for  the  restoration  of  all  things."  The 
masterly  Confession  of  Augsburg,  the  foundation-symbol  of 
Protestantism,  and  the  acknowledged  creed  of  the  largest 
number  of  the  greatest  theologians  in  all  the  world,  "  CON- 
DEMNS those  Jewish  notions  that,  PRIOR  TO  THE  RESURREC- 
TION OF  THE  DEAD,  the  pious  will  engross  the  government  of 
the  world,  and  the  loicked  be  everywhere  exterminated."  The 
idea  of  a  millennium  of  universal  righteousness,  and  of  the 
triumph  of  the  saints,  previous  to  the  second  advent,  is  sternly 
denied  a  place  in  that  glorious  monument  to  the  truth.  The 
noble  confessors  of  the  Reformation  refused  to  have  any  fel- 
lowship with  it.  They  condemn  it.  They  stigmatize  it  as  a 
Jewish  fable. 

The  author  of  that  great  hymn,  "The  Paradise  Lost"  the 
master  as  well  of  sacred  learning  as  of  song,  says, — 

Truth  shall  retire 

Bestuck  with  slanderous  darts,  and  works  of  faith 
Barely  be  found ;  SO  SHALL  THE  WORLD  GO  ON, 
To  good  malignant,  to  bad  men  benign, 
Under  her  own  weight  groaning,  till  the  day 
Appear,  of  reparation  to  the  just, 
And  vengeance  to  the  wicked,  at  return 
Of  Him — thy  Savior  and  thy  Lord. 

Thomas  Hall  says  of  the  millennium,  "It  cannot  be  before 
the  day  of  judgment,  for  these  reasons: — 

"  The  last  days  will  be  perilous  days.  Wickedness  will  the 
most  abound  towards  the  end  of  the  world. 

"  The  church  of  Christ  on  earth  to  the  end  of  the  world,  is 
a  mixt  society,  consisting  of  tares  and  wheat,  good  and  bad,  a 
Gog  and  Magog  to  molest  the  saints  to  the  end. 

"It  is  a  tenet  contrary  to  the  judgment  of  all  the  church  of 
Christ. 

"  It  makes  the  ruin  of  Antichrist  to  be  a  thousand  years  or 
more  before  the  day  of  judgment,  when  the  Scripture  joins 
them  together. 


58  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

"  It  makes  the  cliurch  triumphant  when  Christ  comes,  con- 
trary to  the  tenor  of  the  Scripture." 

Matthew  Henry  says,  "  As  long  as  the  world  stands,  there 
will  still  be  in  it  such  a  mixture  as  we  now  see.  We  long  to 
see  all  wheat  and  no  tares  in  God's  field ;  but  it  will  not  be 
till  the  time  of  ingathering,  till  the  winnoiving-day  comes : 
both  must  grow  together  until  the  harvest."  "  Without 
doubt,"  says  Cotton  Mather,  "  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  will 
not  become  the  kingdoms  of  God  and  of  his  Christ,  before  the 
preordained  time  of  the  dead,  in  which  the  reward  shall  be 
given  to  the  servants  of  God."  "They  who  expect  the  rest 
promised  for  the  church  of  God  to  be  found  anyiuhere  but 
in  the  new  earth,  or  any  happy  times  for  the  church  in 
a  world  that  hath  death  and  sin  in  it, — THESE  DO  ERR, 
not  knowing  the  Scriptures,  nor  the  kingdom  of  God." 
"Christ's  church,  while  in  this  world,"  says  Whitefield,  "will 
be  a  bush  burning  with  fiery  trials  and  afflictions  of  various 
kinds." 

But  I  have  not  time  to  quote  one-half  of  the  testimonies  I 
have  at  hand.  This,  however,  I  will  say,  that  I  have  not 
found  a  respectable  or  acknowledged  creed  in  all  Christendom, 
from  the  beginning  until  now,  that  teaches  the  doctrine  of  a 
millennium  before  Christ's  coming.  I  have  not  found  one 
single  passage  in  all  the  Bible  that  sustains  the  doctrine  of  a 
millennium  before  Christ's  coming.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
I  have  found  a  long  and  unbroken  line  of  witnesses  from  the 
days  of  the  apostles  until  now,  who  testify  with  one  voice, 
that  the  hope  of  a  millennium  of  universal  righteousness, 
liberty  and  peace  before  Christ  comes,  is  a  falsehood  and  a 
dream.  I  have  found  many  eminent  divines,  who  have  blest 
the  church  and  the  world  with  their  piety  and  wisdom,  eagerly 
looking  for  the  Savior's  advent  as  the  only  thing  that  is  to 
lift  the  church  out  of  its  present  depression  and  gloom.  And 


THE   SAVIOR'S   ADVENT   WILL   BE   PREMILLEXXIAL.      59 

beyond  and  above  all,  I  have  found  the  word  of  God  every- 
where pointing  to  the  same  great  and  glorious  event  as  the 
only  hope  of  the  pious,  and  as  the  great  link  which  alone  can 
connect  us  with  or  bring  us  into  the  joys  and  jubilations  of 
the  millennial  era.  Arrange  it  as  you  will,  you  shall  not  be 
able  to  put  off  the  Savior's  advent  until  after  the  millennium. 
Theorize  and  speculate  as  you  please,  when  the  Lord  cometh 
he  will  find  the  world  as  now,  full  of  vice,  unbelief,  sensuality 
and  guilt.  All  society  shall  be  chequered,  varied,  mixed  and 
disordered  as  now,  so  that  "one  shall  be  taken,  and  the  other 
left."  We  may  impose  upon  ourselves,  but  God  is  not 
mocked.  We  may  prefer  our  vague  dreams,  and  set  them  up 
against  his  positive  revelations;  but  his  truth  abideth.  "  He 
hath  magnified  his  word  above  all  his  name."  He  "  is  not 
slack  concerning  his  promise,  as  some  men  count  slackness; 
but  the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh."  It  is  not  far  off,  at  the 
end  of  thousands  of  years  hence.  It  is  near.  We  are  "  hast- 
ing unto  it."  Many  years  ago  already  it  was  said,  by  men 
who  spake  by  inspiration  of  God,  "  The  coming  of  the  Lord 
draiceth  niyli."  "The  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand."  And 
Jesus  commands  all,  "Watch,  for  yc  knoio  not  irhat  hour  the 
Son  of  man  cometh."  All  through  the  Xew  Testament  the 
coming  of  the  Lord  is  spoken  of  as  an  event  that  may  occur 
at  any  day.  From  this  alone,  I  know  that  we  have  no  right 
to  expect  a  millennium  first.  It  is  useless  to  tell  me  that  it  it 
only  a  providential,  spiritual,  figurative  coming  that  is  to 
occur  before  the  millennium.  Providentially,  and  spiritually, 
Christ  is  already  here.  Wherever  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  his  name,  there  he  is.  He  is  now  and  ever  at 
work  in  his  providence,  controlling,  arranging,  overruling, 
moving  every  thing ;  and  his  spirit  is  given  to  every  man  to 
profit  withal.  Figuratively,  he  comes  every  clay.  Every 
meal  we  take,  every  breath  we  draw,  every  new  pulsation  of 


60  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

our  life,  lie  brings  to  us,  as  it  were,  by  his  own  hand.  And 
if  his  coming  before  the  millennium  includes  no  higher,  no 
more  real  coming  than  these  things  amount  to,  then  I  know 
not  upon  what  ground  Christians  can  hope  that  he  ever  will 
return  in  person  to  our  world.  The  Bible  has  no  terms  ex- 
pressive of  a  literal  and  real  coming,  but  those  which  describe 
his  premillennial  coming.  When  we  read  of  the  coming  of 
other  persons,  we  never  think  of  allegory  or  figure.  We  take 
the  language  for  what  it  means.  But  when  we  read,  in  the 
same  connections,  of  Christ's  coming — the  coming  of  the  Lord 
— the  appearing  of  the  Savior's  presence — theologians  must 
rack  their  brains  to  find  out  some  other  meaning  for  the 
words;  and  that  just  to  obscure  that  great  and  animating 
hope  of  the  church,  that  "  the  Lord  is  at  hand/'  and  shall 
"surely  come  quickly." 

Oh,  my  brethren,  let  us  beware  how  we  torture  and  explain 
away  the  sacred  words  which  God  in  mercy  has  given  us  for 
our  guidance !  Let  us  beware  how  we  charge  the  Holy 
Ghost  with  saying  what  he  does  not  mean.  That  servant  who 
"  says  in  his  heart,  My  Lord  delayeth  his  coming,"  the  Savior 
calls  an  "  evil  servant." 

How  is  it,  then,  with  you  ?  Are  you  looking  for,  as  you 
are  approaching,  the  day  of  God?  Have  you  made  your 
peace  with  God  ?  Have  you  your  lamps  trimmed,  and  burn- 
ing, and  well  supplied  with  the  oil  of  the  grace  of  God  ? 
Have  you  committed  yourselves  fully  into  the  only  Savior's 
hands  ?  Is  he  your  portion,  and  the  fixed  hope  of  your  souls  ? 
Do  you  believe  that  it  is  but  "a  little  while,  and  he  that  shall 
come,  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry"  ?  Or  are  you  saying 
"Peace  and  safety"  whilst  unreconciled  to  God,  or  a  Christian 
only  in  theory  and  in  name  ?  There  still  is  hope.  The  doors 
of  salvation  still  stand  open  to  you.  But,  alas,  how  soon  may 
the  startling  summons  come  to  call  you  to  your  last  account ! 


EXHORTATION  TO  THE  UNPREPARED.         61 

Awake,  then,  0  careless  one,  and  call  upon  your  God,  if  so  be 
that  He  will  think  upon  you,  that  you  perish  not.  There  is 
no  remedy  and  no  hope  but  this.  "  I  beseech  you,  therefore, 
brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  you  present  your  bodies 
a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable  to  God,  which  is  your 
reasonable  service.  And  be  not  conformed  to  this  world ;  but 
be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  mind,  that  ye 
may  prove  what  is  that  good  and  acceptable  and  perfect  will 
of  God." 


THIRD  DISCOURSE. 


THE     GLORIOUS     RESTITUTION BELIEVED     IN     AND     TAUGHT      BY     THE 

HEATHEN    AND    JEWS THIS    WORLD     NOT     TO     BE     DEPOPULATED     OR 

ANNIHILATED WHAT     IS    MEANT    BY    "THE    END    OF    THE    WORLD1' 

THE     LAST     CONFLAGRATION THE    WHOLE    TERRESTRIAL     SYSTEM    OF 

THINGS    TO    BE    DELIVERED    FROM    THE    CURSE    OF    SIN. 


ACTS  iii.  20, 21 :  And  he  sliall  send  Jesus  Christ  which  before  was 
preaclied  unto  you :  whom  the  heaven  must  receive,  until  the  times 
of  restitution  of  all  things,  which  God  hath  spoken  by  the  mouth 
of  all  his  holy  prophets,  since  the  world  began. 

THIS  world  is  a  disjointed  and  dilapidated  fabric.  The  con- 
vulsions of  sin  have  reduced  it  to  a  sad  predicament.  When 
God  made  it,  it  beamed  with  good,  and  was  radiant  with  glory. 
Then  man  was  holy,  and  every  thing  was  peace.  Pure  happi- 
ness and  harmony  reigned  universal.  There  was  no  sickness, 
no  pain,  no  griefs,  no  fears,  no  death.  There  was  nothing  foul 
in  humanity,  and  nothing  grating  or  discordant  in  surrounding 
nature.  Heaven  shone  benignantly  on  earth,  and  earth  smiled 
gratefully  on  heaven.  Man  was  in  sweet  companionship  with 
angels,  and  wore  upon  his  unwrinkled  brow  the  crown  of  un- 
disputed lordship  over  all  this  lower  world.  It  is  not  so  now. 
A  dark  eclipse  has  come  over  this  mundane  sphere.  What 
was  once  bright  in  the  smiles  of  its  Maker  has  been  blackened 
with  the  smokes  of  the  pit.  The  garden  which  was  fitted  up 
as  the  abode  of  immortality  has  become  a  place  of  thorns,  cor- 
ruption and  graves.  Man  disobeyed,  and  his  disobedience 
has  brought  in  all  sorts  of  disorder,  suffering  and  death.  The 

soul  rebelled  against  God,  and,  as  the  result,  the  flesh  has 
62 


PRESENT   ASPECT   OF   THE    EARTH.  03 

revolted  against  the  spirit,  and  the  whole  external  creation  has 
been  thrown  into  resentful  confusion.  Cold,  storms,  earth- 
quakes, volcanoes,  barren  fields,  pestilential  airs,  smiting  sun- 
shine, tearing  briars,  and  noxious  things,  combine  in  the 
terrific  accusation  against  man,  and  utter  the  bitter  manifesto 
of  protestation  against  his  unholy  deeds.  What  was  created 
to  minister  to  our  joy  has  become  a  disorderly  servant,  as  if 
indignant  to  obey  a  convict  sovereign.  Aliens  from  God  now 
by  very  nature,  it  would  seem  as  if  all  creation  around  us 
viewed  us  with  suspicion  and  abhorrence,  and  stirred  in  every 
part  to  shake  us  off,  and  groaned  to  rid  itself  of  our  torment- 
ing presence.  All  the  elements  seem  to  have  been  jarred 
into  discordance  with  each  other,  and  inspired  with  a  strange 
antipathy  to  us.  Like  Cain  in  his  wanderings,  we  must  now 
walk  this  fitful  earth  in  continual  fear  lest  we  should  find  our 
death  in  every  thing  we  meet.  Plague  is  in  the  food  we  eat, 
the  water  we  drink,  and  the  air  we  breathe.  Death  comes  in 
at  our  windows,  and  creeps  through  all  the  crevices  of  our 
dwellings.  And  however  long  or  vigorously  we  may  main- 
tain the  fight,  the  end  of  each  one  is  to  fall  at  last  and  to  rot 
in  the  sepulchre. 

Such  is  man,  and  the  system  with  which  he  is  connected. 
We  contemplate  the  spectacle  with  sadness.  We  can  find 
much  that  is  lovely,  but  it  is  loveliness  marred  with  sore  dis- 
tress. We  see  much  that  is  venerable  and  majestic,  but  it  is 
in  connection  with  signs  of  some  deep  mysterious  ailment. 
Goethe  says,  ''When  I  stand  all  alone  at  night  in  open  nature, 
I  feel  as  though  it  were  a  spirit,  and  begged  redemption  of 
me.  Often  have  I  had  the  sensation  as  if  nature,  in  wailing 
sadness,  entreated  something  of  me,  so  that  not  to  understand 
what  she  longed  for  cut  through  my  very  heart.''  "Even  in 
the  things  of  the  world  of  bodies  which  surrounds  us,"  says 
Schubert,  "there  is  an  element  of  life,  a  yearning  of  what  is 
bound,  which,  like  that  Memnon  statue,  unconsciously  makes 


64  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

symphony  when  the  ray  touches  it  from  above."  And  as  we 
behold  afflicted  nature  oppressed,  blighted,  disjointed,  and 
sending  up  her  deep-toned  miserere,  we  ask,  Is  there  no 
remedy — no  relief?  Is  there  not  some  deferred  deliverance 
yet  to  come?  Is  there  not  some  hope — some  ray  of  promise 
to  shine  upon  the  gloomy  wreck  ?  We  know  that  there  is 
redemption  provided  for  the  spirit;  is  there  none  for  the  body? 
And  if  there  is  redemption  for  the  body,  is  there  none  for  the 
general  system  of  which  the  body  forms  a  part  ?  Shall  the 
sinner  be  visited  with  salvation,  and  that  which  suffers  only 
for  the  sinner's  sake  be  left  without  hope  of  deliverance  ?  It 
cannot  be.  God,  whose  mercies  are  over  all  his  works,  in  his 
own  good  time  will  bring  relief. 

The  hope  of  some  future  general  restitution  of  earthly 
things  has  been  entertained  and  taught  in  all  ages  of  the 
world.  "We  meet  with  it  in  all  the  records  of  antiquity,  both 
Gentile  and  Jewish.  The  sibylline  oracles  are  full  of  it.  They 
tell  of  the  coming  of  one  who  shall  yet  fill  the  earth  with 
blessing,  raise  the  sleeping  dead,  restore  all  things,  subdue  all 
enemies,  rebuild  the  city  beloved  of  God,  and  introduce  a  time 
of  glory  when  the  East  and  the  West  shall  celebrate  the  honor 
of  God,  and  no  more  evils  shall  come.  They  point  to  "  an 
age  to  come,"  and  a  "new  birth  of  nature,"  and  link  the 
glorious  Kingdom  they  predict  with  an  exalted  personage 
"from  the  heavenly  heights,"  who  is  to  "reduce  all  mankind 
to  a  single  empire."  Plato  says,  "In  the  end,  lest  the  world 
should  be  plunged  into  an  eternal  abyss  of  confusion,  God,  the 
author  of  the  primitive  order,  will  appear  again,  and  resume 
the  reins  of  empire;  then  he  will  change,  embellish,  and 
restore  the  whole  frame  of  nature,  and  put  an  end  to  decay  of 
age,  sickness  and  death."  Plutarch  gives  it  as  part  of  the 
faith  of  the  ancient  Persians,  that  "  there  will  come  a  time, 
appointed  by  fate,  when  Ahriman  (the  god  of  evil)  shall  be 
entirely  destroyed  and  extirpated,  the  earth  change  its  form 


TRADITIONS   OF   A   COMING   RESTITUTION.  65 

and  become  plain  and  even,  and  happy  men  Lave  one  and  the 
same  life,  language,  and  government."  According  to  Strabo, 
the  ancient  gymnosophists  had  a  similar  tradition,  and  believed 
in  a  time  when  "the  ancient  plenty  shall  be  restored."  Vir- 
gil describes  the  renovation  both  of  the  physical  and  moral 
world.  The  Chinese  philosophers  entertained  a  belief  in  the 
present  corruption  and  the  future  renewal  of  the  entire  world. 
(See  Hort's  Sermons.)  It  is  also  said  that  the  Karens  in  Tavoy, 
in  Asia,  have  a  tradition  "  that  God  once  dwelt  among  them, 
and  that  he  has  departed  to  the  West,  whence  he  is  to  return, 
and  assuredly  reappear;"  and  that  "when  God  conies,  the 
dead  trees  will  bloom  again;  the  tigers  and  serpents  become 
tame;  no  more  distinction  exist  between  rich  and  poor;  and 
universal  peace  bless  the  world."  Dr.  Wolffe  relates  that  he 
heard  a  dervish  of  Hindostan  express  the  belief  that  "the 
world  will  become  so  good,  that  the  lamb  and  the  wolf  shall 
feed  together;  and  there  shall  be  general  peace  and  fear  of 
God  upon  earth;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  controversy  about 
religion,  no  more  hatred,  and  all  shall  know  God  truly."  Origen 
against  Celsus  says  that  the  heathen  authors  did  believe  and 
teach  the  ultimate  renovation  of  the  world.  According  to 
Burnet,  the  Scythians,  the  Celts,  the  Chaldeans,  the  Indian 
philosophers,  all  say  that  the  earth  is  to  undergo  a  purgation 
and  be  renewed.  And  nearly  all  the  heathen  authors  sang  or 
wrote  of  some  great  year  when  all  things  should  again  return 
to  beauty,  order,  and  blessedness.  The  same  ideas  of  future 
renewal  were  also  entertained  by  the  Jews.  They  looked  for 
a  grand  millennial  sabbath,  in  which  the  world  should  rest 
from  all  its  tribulations,  and  holiness  and  peace  be  the  portion 
of  all  its  inhabitants.  Philo  gives  it  as  their  belief,  that  the 
earth  shall  be  purified,  and  appear  new  again,  even  as  it  was 
when  it  first  was  made. 

These,  my  brethren,  are  significant  facts.     What  has  been 

so  universally  believed,  and   so   deeply  ploughed    into  the 
E  6* 


66  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

minds  and  woven  with  the  hopes  of  the  most  enlightened 
teachers  of  mankind,  dare  not  be  rashly  discarded  as  a  ground- 
less fable.  There  must  be  some  solid  foundation  for  it  some- 
where. As  Mede  remarks  upon  another  subject,  so  here, 
"  all  this  smoke  of  tradition  could  hardly  arise  but  from  some 
fire  of  truth."  And  when  we  consider  that  many  of  the  tra- 
ditions and  prophetic  utterances  of  the  heathen  world  are  but 
the  echoes  and  floating  relics  of  God's  own  primitive  revela- 
tions, we  may  safely  refer  this  wide-spread  notion  of  the  earth's 
ultimate  restoration  and  renewal  to  the  same  divine  source. 
One  thing  is  certain,  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  do  speak  of  a 
"time  of  restitution  of  all  things,"  and  assure  us  that  God 
hath  declared  the  same  "by  the  mouth  of  all  his  holy  prophets 
since  the  world  began."  Christ  himself  refers  to  a  glorious 
"regeneration"  which  is  yet  to  pass  upon  our  world.  Paul 
tells  us  of  a  "redemption"  for  which  "the  whole  creation 
groaneth  and  travaileth  together  in  pain,"  when  "the  creature 
itself  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption." 
And  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  point  us  to  "  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth,"  which  are  to  be  formed  by  the 
purgation  and  change  of  "  the  heavens  and  the  earth  which 
are  now." 

This  terrestrial  system,  then,  is  not  an  utter  wreck — not  a 
hopeless  ruin.  It  shall  yet  be  restored.  God  shall  send  Jesus 
Christ,  even  that  same  Jesus  which  the  apostles  preached,  and 
under  his  wonderful  administrations,  Satan,  with  all  his  chil- 
dren and  confederates,  shall  be  cast  out,  and  the  sons  of  God 
shall  shout  over  the  complete  redemption  of  a  world  the  crea- 
tion of  which  excited  high  songs  of  joy.  Some  have  the 
erroneous  notion,  that  the  coming  of  Christ  is  to  be  attended, 
or  speedily  followed,  by  the  entire  destruction  and  annihilation 
of  the  earth.  Some  appear  to  believe  verily  that  every  thing 
in  God's  material  universe  is  eventually  to  pass  away,  and  space 
again  become  a  blank  such  as  they  suppose  it  was  before  crea- 


A   COMMON   ERROR.  67 

tion  began.  It  is  singular  what  a  deep  antipathy  some  evince 
towards  all  associations  of  materialism  with  our  immortal  des- 
tiny. How  fond  some  have  shown  themselves  of  disrobing 
physical  nature,  and  reducing  her  to  smouldering  ruins,  as  if 
she,  and  not  man,  were  the  offender !  Indeed,  we  have  all 
heard  so  much  about 

"The  -wreck  of  matter,  and  the  crush  of  worlds," 

that  we  unconsciously  set  it  down  among  the  articles  of  our 
creed,  not  considering  that  there  is  not  a  word  of  truth  in  it. 
It  has  been  so  often  repeated,  that 

"  The  great  globe  itself, 
Yea,  all  that  it  inherits,  shall  dissolve, 
And,  like  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision, 
Leave  not  a  rack  behind !" 

that  we  are  inclined  even  to  contend  that  it  must  be  so.  A 
few  days  since  I  read  a  passage  in  Bailey's  "  Festus"  where 
he  makes  one  of  his  speakers  say — 

"  Behold  now  all  yon  worlds ! 
The  space  each  fills  shall  be  its  successor, — 
'Tis  earth  shall  lead  destruction;  she  shall  end. 
The  stars  shall  wonder  why  she  coines  no  more 
On  her  accustomed  orbit,  and  the  sun 
Miss  one  of  his  eleven  of  light;  the  moon, 
An  orphan  orb,  shall  seek  for  earth  for  aye 
Through  time's  untrodden  depths  and  find  her  not! 

HER  GRAVE  is  DUG  ! 

And,  one  by  one,  shall  all  yon  wandering  worlds 
Cease;  and  the  sun,  centre  and  sire  of  light, 
Be  left  in  burning  solitude.     The  stars 

shall  pass  ! 

The  world  shall  perish  as  a  worm. 
Upon  destruction's  path  !     THE  UNIVERSE 
EVAMSH  like  a  ghost  before  the  sun, 
Yea,  like  a  doubt  before  the  truth  of  God !" 

Now,  this  may  be  fine  poetry,  and  portray  a  sweep  of  fancy 
and  power  of  diction  that  may  be  admired ;  but  it  is  nothing 


68  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

but  sublime  nonsense.  There  is  nothing  of  the  kind  to  which 
any  known  laws  of  nature  can  lead ;  and  there  is  nothing  of 
the  kind  predicted  in  the  word  of  God.  Suppose  that  Adam, 
instead  of  sinning,  had  gone  on  peopling  the  world  with  holy 
generations,  as  Jehovah  commanded  him;  would  not  this  earth 
have  continued  to  be  the  happy  home  of  the  race,  beautiful 
and  "  very  good"  forever  ?  What  other  opinion  will  the 
Scriptures  permit  us  to  entertain  ?  Yet  Christ  is  "  the 
second  Adam,"  come  down  into  this  world  for  the  expressed 
purpose  to  arrest  the  current  of  things  which  set  in  with  the 
fall  of  the  first :  his  whole  mission  and  work  looking  to  the 
restoration  to  the  race  exactly  what  the  first  Adam  lost.  And 
if  the  obedience  of  the  first  Adam  would  have  exempted  the 
earth  from  all  trouble,  danger  and  destruction,  we  may  rest 
assured  that  the  glorious  redemption  of  the  second  Adam  will 
not  leave  it  in  a  condition  less  hopeful,  secure,  or  blessed. 

But  the  Scriptures  have  not  left  us  to  argue  this  point  upon 
mere  general  principles.  They  have  spoken  respecting  the 
duration  of  the  fabric  of  nature,  including  this  earth,  in  a 
manner  which  should  put  the  question  forever  at  rest  in  the 
minds  of  all  believers.  Hear  what  the  Psalmist  says: — "Let 
the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  all  the  stars  of  light,  praise  the 
lLord  :  for  he  commanded,  and  they  were  created.  HE  HATH 

^ALSO   ESTABLISHED  THEM    FOREVER  AND  EVER."      The  same 

inspired  singer,  in  another  place,  makes  these  material  orbs  of 
creation  as  permanent  as  the  very  promises  and  immutable 
oaths  of  Deity.  He  singles  them  out  as  the  perfect  emblems 
of  the  infallibility  of  God's  covenant  of  mercy.  "  Once  have 
I  sworn,"  saith  the  Almighty,  "  that  I  will  not  lie  unto  David. 
His  seed  shall  endure  forever,  and  his  throne  as  the  sun  before 
rne.  It  shall  be  established  forever  as  the  moon."  "  One 
generation  passeth  away,"  says  Solomon,  "and  another  gene- 
ration cometh ;  BUT  THE  EARTH  ABIDETH  FOREVER." 
"  God  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth  that  it  should  not  be 


SCRIPTURAL  VIEWS.  69 

removed  forever."  "  God  himself  that  formed  the  earth, 
and  made  it,  he  hath  established  it;  he  created  it  not  in 
vain,  he  formed  it  to  be  inhabited."  "  The  righteous  shall 
inherit  the  land,  and  dwell  therein  forever."  Daniel,  in  his 
vision  of  the  last  things,  after  the  descent  of  the  Son  of 
man  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  saw  "  the  kingdom,  and 
dominion,  and  greatness  of  the  kingdom,"  not  in  some  other 
world,  but  "  under  the  whole  heaven"  which  is  nowhere 
but  upon  this  very  earth,  "  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints 
of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  king- 
dom." And  if  these  holy  and  divinely-inspired  men  knew 
any  thing  about  the  subject,  and  words  have  any  meaning  in 
them,  I  do  not  see  that  there  is  much  ground  for  the  ap- 
prehension that  this  orb,  or-  any  other,  is  likely  to  fall  into 
oblivion. 

Neither  does  the  language  of  the  New  Testament  on  this 
subject  differ  from  what  is  said  about  it  in  the  Old.  Jesus 
says,  "Blessed  are  the  meek,  for  THEY  SHALL  INHERIT  THE 
EARTH."  But  where  is  the  blessedness  of  inheriting  the 
earth,  if  the  earth  is  to  be  totally  destroyed  ?  This  passage, 
as  I  take  it,  points  directly  to  the  fact,  that  the  saints  are  to 
have  this  world  as  their  final  delightful  home,  when  once 
the  curse  of  sin  has  been  rooted  out  of  it.  As  things  now 
are,  it  is  not  "  the  meek,"  but  the  proud,  aspiring,  ambitious 
and  rapacious,  who  succeed  to  most  of  this  world's  possessions. 
And  if  the  earth  is  not  to  continue,  or  is  not  to  be  the  future 
home  of  immortality,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  find  any  meaning  in 
this  saying  of  the  Savior.  According  to  Paul,  (Rom.  iv.  13,) 
the  promise  to  Abraham,  and  to  all  his  spiritual  seed,  is  that 
they  shall  be  "heirs  of  the  world."  But  is  it  not  a  poor  sort 
of  heirship  which  offers  an  inheritance  that  is  to  be  eternally 
annihilated?  Peter  gives  it  as  the  promise  of  God,  and  the 
glad  hope  of  the  saints,  that  the  earth,  notwithstanding  the 
fires  that  are  to  pass  over  it,  is  yet  to  be  the  home  of  right- 


70  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

eousness,  and  hence  of  course  also  the  possession  of  the  right- 
eous. But  this  canuot  be  if  the  earth  is  to  pass  away.  Ac- 
cording to  John,  the  song  of  the  ransomed  spirits  now  in 
paradise  awaiting  the  completion  of  God's  mysterious  plans, 
next  to  its  ascriptions  of  praise  to  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  tf 
takes  as  one  of  its  loftiest  and  sweetest  strains,  "  WE  SHALL 
REIGN  WITH  HIM  ON  THE  EARTH  I"  What  does  that  mean, 
if  it  does  not  contemplate  the  earth  as  enduring  beyond  the 
scenes  of  judgment,  and  furnishing  the  theatre  for  the  sub- 
lirnest  joys  and  honors  of  our  immortality?  And  as  John 
looked  down  the  pathway  of  futurity,  beyond  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, he  "  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,"  and  "the  new 
Jerusalem  descending"  upon  it ;  and  "  heard  a  great  voice 
out  of  heaven,  saying,  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  Gk>d  is  with 
men,  and  he  will  dwell  with  them  and  be  their  God.  And 
he  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes;  and  there  shall 
be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying,  neither  shall 
there  be  any  more  pain  :  for  the  former  things  are  passed 
away." 

Now,  what  is  there  in  all  this  that  looks  like  "  the  wreck 
of  matter/'  "  the  crush  of  worlds,"  or  the  everlasting  disap- 
pearance of  "  the  great  globe  itself !"  No,  no ;  creation  is 
not  to  be  destroyed.  The  vast  and  splendid  mechanism  of  the 
worlds  is  not  to  be  broken  up,  and  thrown  aside,  and  con- 
signed to  oblivion.  None  of  these  great  products  of  creative 
power  and  wisdom  shall  ever  come  to  naught,  or  be  forgotten. 
The  footsteps  of  the  Son  of  God  upon  this  earth  have  conse- 
crated it,  and  made  it  too  sacred  ever  to  be  blotted  from  the 
page  of  being.  And  when  I  think  that  God  hath  conde- 
scended to  be  manifest  in  material  flesh,  and,  in  the  person  of 
Jesus,  did  actually  unite  himself  with  the  dust  of  earth,  and 
wore  -it  on  him,  my  contempt  for  materiality  vanishes  at  once, 
and  it  seems  to  me  like  sacrilege  to  entertain  the  idea  of  this 
world's  annihilation.  Shall  the  clay  which  constituted  the 


NO   WASTE   IN   CREATION.  71 

body  of  the  blessed  Christ  pass  over  into  the  devil's  hands,  or 
go  down  to  everlasting  nothingness  ?  Shall  the  soil  that  was 
saturated  with  the  precious  blood  of  his  unspotted  heart  be 
consigned  to  irrecoverable  ruin  ?  Shall  the  theatre  of  his 
great  labors,  agonies,  death  and  triumphs,  disappear,  "and 
leave  not  a  rack  behind"  to  mark  the  orb  on  which  his  mighty 
deeds  of  love  were  done  ?  Shall  men  hold  those  spots  sacred 
on  which  great  patriots  and  benefactors  lived  and  died,  and 
the  eternal  God  blot  out  the  world  on  which  his  dear  Son 
performed  the  sorrowful  pilgrimage  of  human  life,  and  accom- 
plished the  stupendous  work  of  the  redemption  of  its  in- 
habitants ?  I  do  not,  I  cannot  believe  it.  It  goes  against  all 
my  deepest  conceptions  of  God  and  his  great  purposes  of  love. 
Aside  from  all  this,  it  seems  to  be  a  settled  law  of  the 
divine  operations,  always  to  work  out  what  is  to  be,  from  what 
already  exists;  and  to  bring  in  no  new  creations  beyond  what 
are  absolutely  necessary.  You  remember  the  miracle  at  the 
marriage  in  Cana.  Jesus  could  just  as  easily  have  filled  the 
waterpots  with  wine  without  requiring  them  first  to  be  filled 
with  water.  But  he  preferred  to  take  an  existing  element, 
and  from  that  to  develop  the  cheering  fruits  of  his  marvellous 
power.  So  in  feeding  the  five  thousand  in  the  wilderness, 
he  could  just  as  easily  have  dispensed  with  the  few  scanty 
loaves  and  fishes ;  but  he  chose  to  take  what  they  had,  and  to 
make  that  the  basis  of  his  wonderful  provision.  It  would  not 
be  more  difficult  for  him  to  create  a  new  race  of  men  upon 
earth  than  to  redeem  its  present  inhabitants;  but  it  seems 
best  to  him  to  take  the  old  materials,  and  out  of  them  to  effect 
his  great  ends  of  goodness.  He  is  not  prodigal  in  the  use  of 
his  power,  or  wasteful  of  his  creations.  Every  little  fragment 
must  be  gathered,  "  that  nothing  be  lost."  He  always  takes 
the  sinner  to  make  a  saint,  and  the  dying  and  corrupt  body  to 
make  an  immortal  and  spiritual  one.  Xo  matter  how  humble 
or  unpromising  the  basis  may  be,  so  long  as  there  is  a  basis  on 


72  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

which  to  proceed,  he  invariably  adopts  it,  and  works  from  it, 
in  preference  to  an  entirely  new  creation.  I  do  not  know  a 
single  exception  to  this  rule.  I  argue  then,  as  he  brings  "  the 
new  man"  out  of  "the  old  Adam,"  and  the  glorified  body 
out  of  "  the  natural  body,"  and  the  new  harvest  out  of  the 
old  seed,  so  he  will  also  assuredly  bring  the  "  new  heavens 
and  new  earth"  out  of  the  old  heavens  and  old  earth,  and 
thus  make  a  paradise  of  God  out  of  this  very  wilderness  of 
our  present  dwelling-place.  My  faith  is,  that  these  very  hills 
and  valleys  shall  yet  be  made  glad  with  the  songs  of  a  finished 
redemption,  and  this  earth  yet  become  the  bright,  blessed 
and  everlasting  homestead  of  men  made  glorious  and  immortal 
in  body  and  in  soul. 

And  why  should  we  start  back  from  such  ideas,  or  wish 
that  it  were  different  ?  There  is  nothing  essentially  corrupt 
or  degrading  in  matter.  It  did  not  detract  from  Adam's  good- 
ness or  happiness  that  he  stood  in  connection  with  a  material 
system.  It  did  not  render  Christ  less  pure,  exalted,  or  adorable, 
that  he  took  up  his  abode  upon  earth,  and  was  manifested  in 
the  flesh.  After  all,  there  is  much  in  this  world  that  is  beau- 
tiful, attractive  and  good.  Though  it  has  been  much  dis- 
figured and  disordered  by  reason  of  the  sins  of  its  inhabit- 
ants, we  may  still  trace  upon  it  the  footprints  of  Deity,  and 
behold  in  it  many  lingering  relics  of  the  smiles  of  its  God. 
"  Look,"  says  Cummings,  "  at  the  floor  on  which  you  tread, 
so  exquisitely  carpeted  with  verdure,  with  fragrance  and 
with  blossom ;  look  at  the  sky  that  is  above  you,  where  worlds 
are  subservient  as  lamps  and  lights  to  ours ;  look  at  the  whole 
economy  in  which  you  live,  the  ocean  of  air  you  breathe,  the 
infinite  provisions  for  your  comfort ;  and  why  should  you 
want  this  world  destroyed  ?  Go  to  some  of  its  fair  glens,  its 
lovely  scenes,  its  bright  panoramas,  and  you  will  be  constrained 
to  say,  Take  away  sin,  take  away  corruption,  take  away  head- 
aches, heart-aches,  envy,  malice,  uncharitableness,  and  all  the 


MEANING    OF    "  THE    END    OF   TUB    WORLD."  73 

evils  that  sin  has  given  birth  to,  and  I  could  wish  no  lovelier 
heaven  to  dwell  in  forever  and  forever."  Jesus  himself  points 
us  to  the  humble  lilies  of  the  field,  and  tells  us  with  emotion 
that  ''even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one 
of  these  !''  Just  take  from  earth  the  curse  of  sin  that  has 
marred  it;  let  its  pristine  beauty  be  renewed;  plant  in  it  the 
throne  of  my  Redeemer's  glory;  consecrate  and  sanctify  it  with 
his  holy  and  perpetual  presence ;  and  fill  it  with  the  happi- 
ness, love,  peace  and  righteousness  foretold  in  the  Scriptures; 
and  there  certainly  can  be  no  reason  why  we  should  wish  any 
better  heaven,  or  ever  think  of  its  annihilation. 

But  some  will  be  disposed,  at  this  point,  to  remind  me  that 
the  Scriptures  do  certainly  speak  of  an  ending  of  the  world. 
The  disciples  asked  Jesus  what  should  be  the  sign  of  his 
coming,  "  and  of  the  end  of  the  world."  The  Savior  says  "  the 
harvest  is  the  end  of  the  world;"  that,  "as  the  tares  are 
gathered  and  burned  in  the  fire,  so  shall  it  be  in  the  end  of 
the  world;"  and  that  he  is  with  his  ministering  servants 
"  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  I  had  not  over- 
looked these  expressions ;  nor  do  they  present  the  least  em- 
barrassment to  the  doctrine  of  the  earth's  eternal  perpetuity. 
The  word  "  world''  often  has  no  reference  to  the  material 
earth,  much  less  to  the  general  material  universe.  When 
Jesus  said  that  the  -world  hated  him,  and  that  (he  world  would 
hate  his  disciples,  he  certainly  did  not  mean  the  inanimate 
globe.  The  word  world,  you  will  thus  perceive,  has  different 
significations;  and  it  is  used  in  our  English  Bibles  where 
very  different  words  are  used  in  the  original  Greek.  The 
proper  Greek  word  for  the  material  earth  is  fn  >  but  this  word 
is  not  found  in  either  of  the  passages  which  speak  of  the 
ending  of  the  world.  In  two  of  them  the  word  rendered 
world  is  a'.tuv,  which  means  a  space  of  time,  an  age,  an  era,  a 
dispensation.  In  the  other  two,  the  word  rendered  world  is 
which  denotes  the  exterior  order,  arrangements,  in- 
7 


74  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

vestiture  and  embellishments  of  the  earth.  These  shall  end 
when  Christ  comes,  and  give  place  to  something  new  ;  but  the 
Yri — the  earth  itself — has  no  end  assigned  it  anywhere  in  all 
God's  book  of  revelation.  Ages  shall  terminate ;  dispensa- 
tions shall  be  consummated  and  disappear;  "THE  FASHION  of 
this  world  passeth  away;"  and  present  outward  configurations 
of  things  shall  vanish;  but  the  earth  shall  abide.  Already 
we  have  had  at  least  one  ending  of  the  world  since  man's  fall; 
and  from  that  we  may  form  some  idea  of  what  the  next  shall 
be.  I  refer  to  Noah's  flood.  Peter  says  of  it,  "  By  the  word •• 
of  God  the  heavens  were  of  old,  and  the  earth  standing  out 
of  the  water  and  in  the  water,  whereby  THE  WORLD  THAT 
THEN  WAS,  being  overflowed  with  water,  PERISHED/'  Now, 
what  was  it  fatal  perished  ? — the  material  earth  ?  Not  at  all; 
when  the  flood  was  over,  Noah  still  found  it  rolling  in  its 
accustomed  orbit,  where  it  has  kept  rolling  until  now,  and 
where  it  will  continue  to  roll  forever  and  ever.  Peter  says  it 
was  the  xoff/jo?  that  perished ;  that  is,  that  outward  order  and 
constitution  of  things  which  existed  in  antediluvian  times. 
There  was  no  extinction  of  our  globe,  no  missing  of  our 
planet  from  among  the  heavenly  constellations;  and  yet  in- 
spiration says,  "THE  WORLD  that  then  ioas  PERISHED."  May 
there  not,  then,  be  another  ending  or  perishing  of  the  world, 
without  bringing  oblivion  upon  the  material  orb  on  which  we 
dwell  ?  Nay,  the  Holy  Scriptures  authorize  the  remark,  that 
"  the  end  of  the  world"  which  is  yet  to  come  shall  not  be  so 
destructive  to  the  earth  as  the  flood  of  Noah  was.  When 
Noah  came  out  of  the  ark,  "The  Lord  said,  I ivill  not  again 
curse  the  ground  any  more  for  man's  sake,  NEITHER  WILL  I 
AGAIN  SMITE  ANY  MORE  EVERY  LIVING  THING,  AS  I  HAVE 

DONE  :"  (Gen.  viii.  21.)  These  are  not  human  conjectures, 
but  the  words  of  the  immutable  covenant  of  Almighty  God. 
And,  as  the  perishing  of  "  the  world  that  then  icas"  was  not 
an  annihilation  or  destruction  of  the  globe  itself,  so  neither 


THE    JUPGMENT-FWrs.  7") 


will  the  ending  of  the  world  which  now  is  any  more  damage 
or  affect  the  existence  of  this  planet. 

But  Peter  says,  "  The  heavens  and  the  earth,  which  are 
now,  are  kept  in  store,  reserved  unto  fire  against  the  day  of 
judgment  and  perdition  of  ungodly  men;"  that  "the  day  of 
the  Lord  will  come,  in  the  which  the  heavens  shall  pass  away 
with  a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent 
heat  ;  the  earth  also  and  all  that  is  therein  shall  be  burned 
up  ;"  that  "  the  heavens  being  on  fire  shall  be  dissolved,  and 
the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat."  Does  not  this 
teach  the  utter  ruin  and  extinction  of  material  things  ?  Cer- 
tainly not.  The  apostle  guards  particularly  against  such  an 
apprehension.  "Nevertheless  we,  according  to  his  promise, 
look  for"  —  not  another  heaven,  but  "new  heavens;"  not  an- 
other earth,  but  "a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteous- 
ness." The  whole  passage  taken  together,  then,  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  the  assertion  of  a  regeneration  of  the  ma- 
terial world  by  fire,  analogous  to  the  regeneration  of  the  natu- 
ral man  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  as  there  is  no  extinction 
of  existence,  and  no  alteration  in  the  essential  constituents  of 
the  being,  in  the  one  case,  so  neither  shall  there  be  in  the 
other.  The  earth  shall  not  pass  away.  It  shall  live  on  —  sur- 
vive its  baptism  of  fire  —  exist  through  the.  mysterious  regene- 
ration —  and  come  forth,  minus  its  curse,  to  flourish  with  all 
its  sister  orbs  forever  in  its  Maker's  smiles.  Fire  cannot 
reduce  matter  to  nothing.  It  ma}-  alter  the  modes  and  quali- 
ties of  it  ;  but  it  cannot  destroy  its  substance.  And  when  we 
come  to  examine  what  Peter  says  these  last  fires  are  for,  it  is 
plain  that  they  shall  not  be  such  as  to  depopulate  or  make  an 
utter  end  of  this  planet.  Men  of  science  tell  us,  that  the 
deeper  we  penetrate  towards  the  centre  of  the  earth,  the 
warmer  do  we  find  the  temperature;  and  that,  if  we  could 
carry  our  investigations  deep  enough,  we  would  find  the  inte- 
rior of  the  earth  "one  rolling,  restless  flood,  like  the  burning 


76  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

lava  that  pours  from  Vesuvius,  finding  its  occasional  safety- 
valve  in  the  volcano."  It  is  evidently  to  this  fact  that  the 
apostle  speaks,  when  he  says,  (as  some  translate  his  Avords,) 
"  the  present  atmosphere  and  earth  are  stored  with  fire,  re- 
served unto  the  day  of  judgment,  EVEN  THE  PERDITION  OF 
EMINENTLY  WICKED  MEN."  The  last  fires,  then,  are  those 
which  already  exist,  but  which  are  imprisoned  by  the  great 
Creator's  word  until  the  day  of  judgment,  when  they  are  to  be 
let  loose,  not  for  the  annihilation  of  the  world,  but  for  the 
destruction  of  the  openly  apostate,  and  the  persecuting  ene- 
mies of  Christ  and  his  kingdom.  The  scene  which  the  apostle 
declares  is  not  universal,  but  particular  and  local,  and  not 
greatly  different  from  volcanic  phenomena  which  have  often 
been  witnessed.  Read  the  descriptions  given  of  some  of  these 
terrific  eruptions.  Dana  says  of  one  which  occurred  at  the 
great  volcano  Kilanea  Hawaii,  "  The  stream  (of  fire)  plunged 
into  the  sea  with  loud  detonations,  (with  a  great  noise.)  The 
burning  lava,  on  meeting  the  waters,  was  shivered  like  melted 
glass  into  millions  of  particles,  which  were  thrown  up  in 
clouds  that  darkened  the  sky,  and  fell  like  a  storm  of  hail  over 
the  surrounding  country.  Vast  columns  of  steam  and  vapors 
rolled  off  before  the  wind,  whirling  in  ceaseless  agitation ;  and 
the  reflected  glare  of  the  lavas  formed  a  fiery  firmament  over- 
head." Kinney  says,  "  The  intense  heat  of  the  fountain  and 
stream  of  lava  caused  an  influx  of  cool  air  from  every  quarter. 
This  created  terrific  whirlwinds,  which  constantly  stalked 
about,  like  so  many  sentinels,  bidding  defiance  to  the  daring 
visitor.  These  were  the  most  dangerous  of  any  thing  about 
the  volcano.  Clouds  approaching  were  driven  back,  and  set 
moving  in  wild  confusion."  Now,  bring  distinctly  before  your 
minds  this  terrific  scene,  the  sky  filled  with  flames,  the  loud 
roar  and  crash,  the  fused  elements  pouring  forth  from  the 
earth,  the  disordered  rush  of  winds  and  the  dreadful  danger 
of  coming  near,  and  then  take  up  the  literal  words  of  Peter, 


LAST    FIRES    EXPLAINED    IN    OTHER    PROPHECIES.         77 

and  you  will  see  that  it  is  altogether  a  similar  scene  which  he 
describes.  The  day  of  judgment  is  to  unchain  the  impris- 
oned fires;  and  then  the  atmosphere  will  pass  with  a  rushing 
noise;  and  the  elements  being  kindled  will  melt;  and  the 
earth  and  the  works  on  it  will  be  burned.  "As  then  all  these 
are  (to  be)  loosed,  what  manner  of  persons  ought  ye  to  be  iu 
holy  deportment  and  piety,  looking  for  and  earnest!}-  awaiting 
the  coming  of  the  day  of  God,  in  which  the  aerial  regions 
shall  be  let  loose,  (to  rush  in  fiery  whirlwinds,)  and  the  ele- 
ments being  fired  shall  melt."  The  picture  is  exceedingly 
awful,  and,  when  realized,  shall  be  dreadfully  destructive  to 
those  upon  whom  God's  vengeance  shall  thus  fall ;  but  what 
it  portrays  is  evidently  volcanic,  and  confined  to  particular 
regions.  Hence,  says  David  N.  Lord,  after  a  very  thorough, 
critical  and  satisfactory  examination  of  the  whole  passage, 
<l  The  notion  of  the  conflagration  and  dissolution  of  the  hea- 
vens and  earth  at  Christ's  coming,  is  icitlwut  aity  yround 
tchatever  in  the  ajwstte's  icorJs,  and  springs  wholly  from 
attaching  to  them  a  meaning  which  they  do  not  involve.  The 
fires  by  which  the  impious  are  then  to  be  destroyed  are  to  be 
but  local  and  temporary,  and  are  to  offer,  there  is  reason  to 
believe,  no  more  obstacle  to  the  safety  of  the  population  of  the 
globe  at  large  than  the  volcanoes  have  that  have  already  raged 
in  the  depths  of  the  earth  and  ejected  their  burning  elements 
into  the  atmosphere."  And  I  cannot  see  how  any  man  can 
take  God's  words  to  Noah,  promising  never  again  to  smite 
every  living  thing,  and  yet  believe  that  the  last  fires  of  which 
Peter  speaks  are  to  be  the  agents  of  a  complete  and  universal 
destruction. 

It  is  an  inspired  maxim,  my  brethren,  that  "no  prophecy 
of  the  Scripture  is  of  any  private  interpretation."  We  dare 
not  take  what  one  prophet  says  separate  and  apart  from  what 
another  prophet  says.  We  must  take  all  together,  contemplate 
the  whole  in  the  parts  and  the  parts  in  the  whole,  and  explain 

7* 


78  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

what  is  presented  in  one  place  by  what  is  contained  in  an- 
other. The  conflagration  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  of  which 
Peter  speaks  is  the  same  as  the  fires  of  which  other  prophets 
have  spoken  in  the  same  connection.  But  we  search  the 
Scriptures  in  vain  for  any  corresponding  prediction  which  de- 
scribes a  universal  burning  up  of  all  earthly  things.  We  read 
that  "  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  his 
mighty  angels,  in  flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  upon  them 
that  know  not  God  and  obey  not  the  gospel/'  We  read  that 
"  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet,"  when  the  King  of  kings 
appears,  shall  be  "  cast  alive  into  a  lake  of  fire."  We  read 
that  "  the  Lord  shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple,  and  sit  as 
a  refiner  and  purifier  of  silver  ;"  that  "the  day  cometh  that 
shall  burn  as  an  oven,  and  all  the  proud,  yea,  and  all  that  do 
wickedly,  shall  be  stubble :  and  the  day  that  cometh  shall 
burn  them  up;"  that  "our  God  shall  come,  and  shall  not  keep 
silence  :  a  fire  shall  devour  before  him,  and  it  shall  be  very 
tempestuous  round  about  him ;"  and  that  "  a  fiery  stream, 
shall  issue  and  trail  forth  before  him,  and  the  Least  be  slain 
and  given  to  the  burning  flame."  But  we  find  nothing  to 
warrant  the  idea  of  a  universal  conflagration,  much  less  such 
a  burning  as  shall  depopulate  and  annihilate  the  earth.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  explicitly  stated  in  connection  with  these 
descriptions  of  the  last  fires,  that  the  eminently  and  noto- 
riously wicked  alone  are  to  be  visited  by  them.  Archbishop 
Usher  says,  they  will  take  away  "only  the  gross  hypocrites 
and  formal  professors."  Of  other  classes  it  is  said,  "But 
unto  you  that  fear  my  name,  shall  the  Sun  of  righteousness 
arise  with  healing  in  his  wings;  and  ye  shall  go  forth,  aud 
grow  up  as  calves  of  the  stall.  And  ye  shall  tread  down  the 
wicked ;  for  they  shall  be  ashes  under  the  soles  of  your  feet  in 
the  day  that  I  do  this,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."  Upon  Gog 
and  his  hosts  God  will  pour  "great  hailstones,  fire  and  brim- 
stone." He  "will  send  a  fire  on  Magog,  and  among  them 


THE  GLOBE  NOT  TO  BE  DESTROYED.         79 

that  dwell  confidently."  But  in  the  same  connection  we  read 
of  others  who  live  on  unharmed  by  all  these  avenging  fires, 
whilst  "the  great  globe  itself"  continues  steadfast  in  its 
place. 

Now,  taking  all  these  things  together,  I  regard  it  as  settled 
and  certain,  that  Peter  never  meant  to  teach  the  utter  depopu- 
lation .and  destruction  of  this  planet.  He  tells  us,  in  harmony 
with  other  prophets,  that  there  shall  be  dreadful  fires  in  the 
day  of  judgment.  He  tells  us  of  the  present  existence  of 
those  fires,  and  whence  they  shall  proceed.  He  tells  us  their 
object : — "  the  perdition  of  ungodly  men."  He  also  describes 
something  of 'the  terrific  phenomena  which  shall  attend  them. 
And  he  exhorts  us,  in  view  of  those  awful  revelations,  to  be 
devout  and  upright.  But  I  do  not  find  any  thing  in  his  lan- 
guage to  contradict  the  declaration  of  the  wise  man  that  "the 
earth  dbideth  forever."  There  is  immortality  in  the  clods 
and  rocks,  as  well  as  in  the  immaterial  mind.  There  is  some- 
thing undying  in  the  ground  we  tread  beneath  our  feet,  as 
well  as  in  the  soul  with  which  we  climb  to  the  dwelling-place 
of  God.  There  is  no  grave  dug  for  the  material  world,  any 
more  than  for  the  deathless  spirit.  And  as  there  is  redemp- 
tion for  man,  so  there  is  redemption  for  his  smitten  and  dilapi- 
dated dwelling-place. 

I  know  that  the  effects  of  human  apostasy  from  God  are 
very  deep  and  far-reaching ;  perhaps  much  more  so  than  we 
sometimes  think.  The  whole  earth  has  been  involved  in  it. 
"  The  whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain"  in  con- 
sequence of  it.  But  with  the  deep  depths  of  the  distress 
which  has  been  struck  into  all  the  pulsations  of  sublunary 
nature  by  reason  of  man's  iniquities,  the  Scriptures  do  furnish 
the  sublime  hope  that  it  shall  all  be  again  extracted.  There 
is  a  time  of  restitution  coming.  There  is  a  day  of  deliver- 
ance at  hand.  That  universal  wail,  which  has  been  going  up 
for  the  past  six  thousand  years,  shall  yet  be  hushed  and  lost 


SO  THE  LAST  TIMES. 

amid  strains  of  lalMmia  that  shall  nerer  end.  Lather  says, 
is  important  for  us  to  recur  to  Adam's  original  cundiliun, 
as  we  expect  all  things  to  be  brought  back  again  to  that." 
"AH  things  are  now  disordered  and  decayed;  whence  Peter 
says  that  the  hearens  most  receive  Christ  until  the  time  when 
all  things  shall  be  restored  again  to  what  they  were  in  Para- 
dise; thus  agreeing  with  Pan!,  that  die  whole  creainredny 
has  been  made  subject  to  vanity,  and  that  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  not  man  only,  but  the  earth  and  heaven,  shall  again  be 
brooght  back  to  their  Edenic  state."  Cabin  says,  "I  expect 
with  Paul  a  reparation  of  aD  the  crib  caused  by  sin,  far  which, 
he  represents  the  creatures  as  groaning  and  travailing." 
Charnoek  says,  "As  the  world.,  far  the  sin  of  nun,  lost  its 
first  dignity,  and  was  cursed  after  the  fill,  and  the  beauty 
bestowed  upon  it  by  the  creation  defaced,  so  shall  it  recover 
that  ancient  glory,  when  he  shall  be  fully  restored,  by  the 
resurrection,  to  that  dignity  he  lost  bj  his  frat  sin.  As  man 
shall  be  freed  from  his  corruptibility,  to  receive  that  glory 
which  is  prepared  for  him,  so  shall  the  aeatuics  be  freed  front 
that  imperfection  and  those  stains  and  spots  on  the  face  of 
them,  to  receive  a  new  glory  suited  to  their  nature,  and  an- 
swerable to  the  design  of  God,  when  the  glorious  fiberryof 
the  saints  shaD  be  accomplished."  But  let  ws  hear  what  God 
himself  has  said.  « In  that  day  shall  there  be  upon  the  bdb 
of  the  horses,  Houxxss  TOETO  THE  Lout;  and  the  pots  in 
the  Lord's  house  shall  be  like  the  bowls  before  the  ahar." 
«  He  shall  judge  among  many  people,  and  rebuke  strong  na- 
tions afar  off;  and  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plough- 
shares, and  their  speazs  into  pmning-hooks;  nation  shall  not 
lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war  any 
more.  But  they  shall  at  every  man  under  his  Tine  and 
under  his  %4ree;  and  none  shall  make  them  afraid." 
"And  the  floors  shall  be  fuD  of  wheat,  and  the  rats  shall 
overflow  with  wine  and  oiL"  "The  waters  of  the  dead  sea 


THE   EASTS   TO   BX   XMaTEWED.  SI 


shall  be  Healed   try  the  wat^r?  T"-i.;:L  r:w  .u:  ::"  -.he 

and  by  tike  stream  of  this  water  sbafl  grow  al  maaaer  of 

trees,  whose  kaiui  dbatt  mot  witier,  and  whose  fruit  dufl  Bat 


•• 


tie  Ii> 

pixy  on  the  hok  of 

«ir  T  i-    all  Z:T  brff  •avaftv^  <^:h  Ihi   L:ri." 
-:"._\:     :   :-  -_  "  i  -..  V      -  -1:  il^i:    :  :_e 

-_  _      _•_"•_          _,        _          •       :         _   . "_       ~       ".  .      _•         _    _ 


_-,:;:_.  -:^:     :     -  -I. 


VJ  THE   LAST   T! 

things  which  is  yet  to  be  realized  upon  this  earth.  Son: 
we  must  take  them  literally;  others  interpret  them  figura- 
tively; and  others  understand  them  spiritually.  But,  no  mat- 
ter how  we  take  them,  one  thing  is  settled  and  incontroverti- 
ble, that  they  include  a  physical  as  well  as  a  moral  redemption. 
They  describe  the  lifting  off  of  the  curse  from  all  creation 
around  us,  as  well  as  from  the  souls  within  us.  They  exhibit 
suffering  and  disordered  nature  once  more  free,  harmonious, 
congenial,  restored,  and  forever  at  rest.  They  portray  vast 
and  happy  changes  in  things  spiritual  and  things  physical, 
animate  and  inanimate,  human,  animal,  vegetable  and  ele- 
mental. They  show  us  the  earth  with  its  deserts  fertilized,  its 
elements  harmonized,  its  inhabitants  made  congenial  to  each 
other,  its  product*  rendered  abundant  and  sanatory,  and  its 
possessors  invested  with  perfect  happiness  and  immortality. 
Some  have  looked  for  their  fulfillment  in  a  fancied  millennium 
previous  to  the  Savior's  coming.  They  would  have  us  believe 
that  these  sublime  predictions  relate  only  to  the  universal 
triumph  of  political  freedom,  general  wisdom,  and  exalted 
piety.  But  how  will  the  mere  reign  of  righteousness  and 
love  in  the  hearts  and  conduct  of  mankind  extend  redemption 
into  the  physical  world,  or  work  a  deliverance  to  the  animal 
and  other  kingdoms  ?  Knowledge,  holiness  and  liberty  com- 
bined, and  spread  over  the  earth  from  one  end  thereof  to  the 
other,  cannot  save  a  man  from  bodily  aches,  decay  and  death. 
They  cannot  take  the  taint  from  the  atmosphere,  nor  the  ma- 
laria from  the  earth.  They  cannot  cover  Sahara  with  fertility, 
nor  hush  the  storm  and  tempest,  nor  close  the  volcano's 
crater,  nor  stop  the  Maelstrom's  whirl,  nor  stay  the  earth- 
quake's giant  tread,  nor  relieve  the  creature  of  its  groans. 
Make  every  meal  a  sacrament,  and  every  day  a  Sabbath,  and 
every  thought  a  prayer  to  God ;  and  all  that,  of  itself,  cannot 
take  away  the  curse  with  which  God  has  cursed  <4  the  ground'' 
for  man's  sake,  nor  relieve  these  dying  bodies  from  their 


TIME   AND    MANNER   OF   THIS   GREAT   CHANGE.  83 

many  ills.  The  case  calls  for  greater  changes  in  earth,  air 
and  sea,  and  in  the  whole  present  constitution  of  terrestrial 
things,  than  can  by  any  possibility  result  from  existing  pro- 
cesses, or  from  mere  natural  developments.  We  must  have 
special  electric  influences  to  quiet  the  atmosphere  and  adapt 
it  better  to  the  wants  of  humanity.  We  must  have  vol- 
canic or  some  other  action  in  and  upon  the  earth,  to  change 
some  of  its  surface,  consume  its  impurities,  and  renew  its 
wastes.  We  must  have  a  complete  revolution  in  the  pre- 
sent order  of  things.  In  a  word,  we  must  have  another 
putting  forth  of  divine  power  upon  this  world.  It  must  be 
retouched  by  the  hand  that  made  it.  It  must  come  under  a 
renewing  potency  which  can  raise  the  dead.  And  all  this 
shall  be  only  when  the  Son  of  God  shall  again  come  from  the 
heavens. 

Accordingly,  we  read,  that  when  the  times  of  restitution 
come,  "God  shall  send  Jesu?  Christ."  "And  then  shall  they 
see  the  Son  of  man  coming  iciih  power."  And  "he  shall 
call  to  the  heavens  from  above,  and  to  the  earth,  that  he  may 
judge  his  people."  "  He  shall  have  dominion  also  from  sea 
to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth."  "  He 
shall  send  forth  his  angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out  of  his 
kingdom  all  things  that  offend,  and  them  which  do  iniquity," 
and  "destroy  them  that  corrupt  the  earth."  "He  shall  go 
forth  as  a  mighty  man,  he  shall  stir  up  jealousy  like  a  man  of 
war ;  he  shall  cry,  yea,  roar ;  he  shall  do  mighty  things  against 
his  enemies."  "  The  Lord  also  shall  roar  out  of  Zion,  and 
utter  his  voice  from  Jerusalem;  and  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  shall  shake."  "  They  that  are  in  their  graves  shall 
hear  his  voice,  and  come  forth."  "  Them  also  that  sleep  in 
Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him."  "  He  shall  change  our  vile 
body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body, 
according  to  the  working  whereby  he  is  able  to  subdue  all 
things  unto  himself."  "Then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the 


84  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

saying  that  is  written,  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory." 
"And  there  shall  be  no  more  curse."  "And  it  shall  come  to 
pass  in  that  day,  that  the  mountains  shall  drop  down  new 
wine,  and  the  hills  shall  flow  with  milk."  "  The  ploughman 
shall  overtake  the  reaper,  and  the  treader  of  grapes  him  that 
soweth  the  seed ;  and  the  mountains  shall  drop  sweet  wine, 
and  all  the  hills  shall  melt."  "  Then  shall  all  the  trees  of  the 
wood  rejoice  before  the  Lord;  for  he  conieth,  for  he  cometh 
to  judge  the  earth ;  he  shall  judge  the  world  with  righteous- 
ness, and  the  people  with  his  truth."  "In  his  day  there  shall 
be  abundance  of  peace."  "  The  government  shall  be  upon 
his  shoulder;  and  of  the  increase  of  his  government  and 
peace  there  shall  be  no  end."  "  He  shall  come  down  like 
rain  upon  the  mown  grass :  as  showers  that  water  the  earth. 
In  his  days  shall  the  righteous  flourish."  "  He  will  make  a 
covenant  for  them  with  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  with  the 
fowls  of  heaven,  and  with  the  creeping  things  of  the  ground." 
"  His  name  shall  endure  forever.  All  nations  shall  call  him 
blessed,  the  Lord  God  who  only  doeth  wondrous  things.  And 
the  whole  earth  shall  be  filled  with  his  glory;  Amen,  and 
Amen." 

Thus,  then,  will  He  that  sits  upon  the  throne  "make  all 
things  new."  "  There  will  be  wonders  in  heaven  above,  and 
signs  in  the  earth  beneath,  blood,  and  fire,  and  pillars  of 
smoke."  But  out  of  trouble  shall  come  joy,  out  of  darkness 
shall  go  forth  light;  and  in  place  of  groans  and  tears  and 
death  shall  be  songs  of  joy  and  glorious  immortality. 

"  The  age  of  crime  and  suffering  yet  shall  end ; 
The  reign  of  righteousness  from  heaven  descend ; 
Vengeance  forever  sheath  the  afflicting  sword  j 
Death  be  destroyed,  and  Paradise  restored; 
Man,  rising  from  the  ruins  of  his  fall, 
Be  one  with  God,  and  God  be  all  in  all." 


THIS    HOPE   NO   FABLE.  85 

'•'  V'rite"  says  the  Son  of  God,  "for  these  ^cords  are  true 
and  fulfil  fuJ."  It  is  not  a  poetic  dream,  but  a  divine  revela- 
tion. God  hath  spoken  it  by  the  mouth  of  all  his  holy  pro- 
phets since  the  world  began.  It  was  the  hope  of  Adam  as  he 
went  forth  an  exile  from  Eden.  It  was  the  light  that  illu- 
mined the  tents  of  the  pilgrims  of  old  with  a  sweeter  halo 
than  the  recollections  of  Paradise.  It  was  the  stay  of  faithful 
Abraham  as  he  sojourned  in  tabernacles  with  Isaac  and  Jacob, 
the  heirs  with  him  of  the  same  promise.  It  shone  in  the 
serene  imagination  of  Isaac,  and  supported  the  dying  head  of 
Jacob,  and  caused  Joseph  to  turn  away  from  Egypt's  mauso- 
leums and  ask  that  his  bones  might  be  carried  up  to  the  land 
of  the  redeemed.  It  shortened  the  centuries  in  which  the 
Lord's  chosen  toiled  in  servitude,  and  cheered  the  house  of 
affliction  with  songs.  It  kindled  glad  expectations  amid  the 
darkness  of  Gentile  apostasy,  and  taught  even  the  heathen  to 
prophesy  of  deliverance.  It  fired  the  hearts  and  tongues  of 
all  Judah's  minstrels,  as  they  swept  from  the  harps  of  in- 
spiration those  lofty  anthems  which  filled  the  home  of  the 
Shekinah  with  praise.  And  thousands  upon  thousands  have 
not  counted  their  lives  dear  unto  them  for  the  excellency  of 
this  hope,  and  were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance,  that 
they  might  obtain  the  better  resurrection.  Even  irrational 
nature  seems  to  be  filled  with  the  promise,  and  until  now 
is  earnestly  expecting  and  waiting  for  "  the  manifestation  of 
the  sons  of  God,"  and  the  redemption  which  shall  be  ef- 
fected when  death  shall  be  no  more.  It  cannot,  therefore, 
be  a  fable.  A  lie  could  not  be  so  deeply  graven.  What  has 
been  so  fondly  believed,  so  long  looked  for,  and  so  earnestly 
desired — what  has  been  the  hope  of  the  good  in  every  age, 
the  theme  of  their  songs,  and  the  joy  of  their  hearts — what 
has  ever  been  pointed  to  as  the  solution  of  earth's  enigma 
and  Jehovah's  great  vindication  —  certainly  cannot  be  a 

8 


86  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

falsehood.  No,  no,  no;  it  cannot  be  delusion.  Creation's 
loosened  strings  shall  again  be  screwed  up  to  their  primeval 
tone  and  concord,  to  accompany  the  songs  of  God's  saints 
with  immortal  harmonies. 

"  The  barren  wastes  shall  rise, 
With  sudden  greens  and  fruits  arrayed, — 
A  blooming  paradise. 

"  True  holiness  shall  strike  its  root 

In  each  regenerate  heart; 
Shall,  in  a  growth  divine,  arise, 
And  heavenly  fruits  impart. 

"  Peace,  with  her  olives  crowned,  shall  stretch 

Her  wings  from  shore  to  shore; 
No  trump  shall  rouse  the  rage  of  war, 
Nor  murderous  cannon  roar. 

"Lord,  for  those  days  we  wait :  those  days 

Are  in  thy  word  foretold ; — 
Fly  swifter,  sun  and  stars,  and  bring 
This  promised  age  of  gold !" 

"  Wherefore,  beloved,  seeing  that  ye  look  for  such  things, 
be  diligent  that  ye  may  be  found  of  him  in  peace,  without 
spot,  and  blameless."  It  would  be  a  sad  thing,  if,  after  all 
these  sublime  arrangements  of  our  Maker,  we  should  eventu- 
ally come  short  of  the  inheritance.  Let  me,  then,  exhort  you 
to  "  give  all  diligence  to  make  your  calling  and  election  sure." 
If  you  are  prayerless,  I  beseech  you  to  go  and  call  upon  God. 
If  you  have  been  thoughtless  and  careless,  I  entreat  you  to 
consider,  and  lay  these  great  matters  to  heart.  If  you  are  a 
sinner,  repent,  repent  now.  And  from  this  hour  let  each  one 
who  hears  these  remarks  set  out  in  full  earnest  to  prepare  to 
meet  God.  Soon  your  day  of  grace  will  be  over.  Soon  your 
opportunities  of  becoming  participants  in  the  glad  scenes  of  a 


DO   ALL   TO   THE   GLORY   OF   GOD.  87 

restored  creation  will  be  at  an  end.  "  The  end  of  all  things 
is  at  hand;  be  ye  therefore  sober,  and  watch  unto  prayer. 
And  above  all  have  fervent  charity  among  yourselves,  for 
charity  shall  cover  the  multitude  of  sins.  If  any  man 
speak,  let  him  speak  as  the  oracles  of  God;  if  any  man 
minister,  let  him  do  it  as  of  the  ability  which  God  giveth : 
that  God  in  all  things  may  be  glorified  through  Jesus 
Christ;  to  whom  be  praise  and  dominion  forever  and  ever. 
Anien." 


FOURTH  DISCOURSE. 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  RESURRECTION — ERRONEOUS  INTERPRETATIONS 

OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CHAPTER  OF  THE  REVELATION  REFUTED THE 

FIRST  RESURRECTION WHAT  THE  ANCIENT  JEWS  TAUGHT  UPON  THE 

SUBJECT CITATIONS  FROM  THE  OLD  PROPHETS — HOW  THE  MATTER 

IS  PRESENTED  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  THE  SUBLIME   HOPES 

INVOLVED. 


KEV.  xx.  4-6 :  And  I  saw  the  souls  of  them  that  were  beheaded  for 
the  witness  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God,  and  which  had  not 
worshipped  the  beast,  neither  his  image,  neither  had  received  his 
mark  upon  their  foreheads,  or  in  their  hands  ;  and  they  lived  and 
reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years.  But  the  rest  of  the  dead 
lived  not  again  until  the  thousand  years  were  finished.  This  is 
the  first  resurrection.  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the 
Jirst  resurrection. 

THAT  the  dead  shall  rise  again,  is  the  universal  belief  of 
Christians.  As  no  historic  fact  was  ever  more  invincibly 
established  than  the  resurrection  of  our  Divine  Redeemer,  so 
no  article  of  our  faith  is  more  clear  and  indisputable  than  the 
doctrine  of  our  rising  again  like  him  at  our  appointed  time. 
It  is  hardly  worth  while,  in  this  connection,  to  accumulate 
proofs  and  authorities  to  support  what  is  so  generally  admitted 
and  believed,  and  so  clearly  announced  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Certainly,  no  one  will  deny  that  the  raising  of  the  dead  lies 
entirely  within  the  reach  of  Divine  power.  No  one  will  say 
that  it  is  a  thing  impossible  to  Omnipotence.  It  involves  no 
contradiction.  It  is  prohibited  by  no  foregone  law  or  necessity. 
It  is  not  rendered  impossible  by  incapacity  in  the  decomposed 


THE   RESURRECTION   PROVED   BY  ANALOGY.  89 

bodies  of  the  departed  for  reorganization.  God  knows  each 
atom,  and  where  it  rests.  Our  substance  was  not  hid  from 
him  when  we  were  made  in  secret.  His  eye  saw  it  yet  being 
imperfect.  All  our  members  were  written  in  his  book  when 
yet  there  was  none  of  them.  He  has  his  number  for  every 
hair  upon  each  head.  Wherever  the  particles  of  these  dis- 
solving bodies  may  be  scattered  or  lodged,  they  lie  completely 
within  his  knowledge  and  power.  And  He  who  could  at  the 
first  so  attemper  the  vulgar  dust  as  to  constitute  a  man  can  also 
again  recover  these  attempered  particles  and  restore  them  to 
their  places.  If  he  can  bring  a  new  and  glorious  ear  out  of 
the  rotting  seed,  he  can  also  bring  a  spiritual  body  out  of  the 
corruptible  one. 

And  as  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  is  not  a  thing  impos- 
sible, so  it  is  not  a  thing  improbable.  Faint  analogies  of  it 
may  be  traced  in  the  ordinary  changes  and  revolutions  beheld 
in  nature  around  us.  Clement,  the  contemporary  and  friend 
of  St.  Paul,  says,  "The  Lord  does  continually  show  us  that 
there  shall  be  a  future  resurrection.  Day  and  night  manifest 
it.  The  seed  sown  in  the  earth  displays  it."  The  day  fades 
and  dies.  It  is  buried  in  sleep,  silence  and  darkness.  In  the 
morning  it  revives,  opens  its  grave  of  gloom,  and  rises  from 
"the  dead  of  night."  The  summer  dies,  and  lies  down  in  its 
wintry  grave.  The  winds  of  heaven  sigh  and  weep  over  it  as 
if  they  would  not  be  comforted.  In  the  spring,  life  begins  to 
work  again  in  the  buried  roots  and  seeds;  the  plants  and 
flowers  burst  out  of  their  dark  cerements;  and  every  thing 
arrays  itself  in  newness  and  glory.  The  sower  goes  forth  and 
ca.^ts  his  seed  upon  the  earth.  It  falls  down  dry  and  naked, 
and  in  time  dissolves.  But  the  great  power  of  the  providence 
of  the  Lord  raises  it  again  from  that  dissolution ;  and  from  the 
old  seed  new  germs  arise,  and  bring  forth  fruit.  The  cater- 
pillar builds  himself  a  tomb,  and  then  lies  down  in  it  and  dies. 
But  out  of  the  grave  of  the  ugly  worm  comes  forth  the  but- 

3* 


90  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

terfly  which  sallies  forth  in  the  sunshine  like  a  living  flower. 
And  so  there  are  many  things  in  nature  that  are  repaired  by 
corrupting,  preserved  by  perishing,  and  revived  by  dying. 
And  as  we  behold  man,  the  lord  of  these  things,  dying  like 
them,  it  is  but  a  fair  presumption  that  he  will  revive  again 
hereafter  as  we  see  them  revive. 

But  God  has  not  left  us  in  the  school  of  nature,  nor  given 
us  over  to  settle  our  persuasions  upon  mere  likelihoods.  In 
the  glorious  record  of  his  word,  he  has  put  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead  beyond  dispute.  Distinct  glimmer- 
ings of  it  may  be  found  all  through  the  Old  Testament;  and 
it  is  predicted  in  the  New  in  language  which  no  one  can  mis- 
understand. Paul  says  there  were  many  saints  before  his  day 
who  "were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance,  that  they 
might  obtain  a  better  resurrection."  He  says  that  the  Jews 
allowed  "that  there  shall  be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead,  both 
of  the  just  and  unjust."  The  heroic  Maccabees  hoped  for 
it.  The  sisters  of  Lazarus  consoled  themselves  by  thinking 
of  it  as  they  lingered  at  their  only  brother's  grave.  Christ 
explicitly  pointed  to  a  coming  period,  when  "  they  that  are  in 
their  graves  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  come 
forth."  The  great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  argued  it  as  a  thing 
demonstrated  by  the  resurrection  of  the  crucified  Savior.  It 
was  the  great  consolation  of  the  noble  army  of  the  martyrs. 
And  in  every  age  of  Christianity  it  has  been  cherished  as  the 
glad  hope  by  which  the  believer  triumphs  over  the  gloom  of 
corporeal  dissolution. 

God  has  also  added  a  seal  to  this  doctrine  which  cannot  be 
counterfeited.  He  has  actually  restored  deceased  persons  to 
life  again.  When  Elijah  prayed  for  the  resuscitation  of  the 
dead  child  of  the  widow  of  Sarepta,  God  heard  him,  "and 
the  soul  of  the  child  came  into  him  again,  and  he  revived." 
Elisha,  in  his  lifetime,  received  power  to  raise  the  young  Shu- 
nemite;  and  the  mere  touch  of  his  bones  caused  a  dead  man 


NATURE   OF   THE   RESURRECTION.  91 

to  revive  and  stand  upon  his  feet.  When  the  daughter  of 
Jairus  died,  Jesus  "said  unto  her,  Tabitha,  cum  I,  and  her 
spirit  cauie  again,  and  straightway  the  damsel  arose."  When 
he  came  "nigh  to  the  gate  of  a  city  called  Nam,  there  was  a 
dead  man  carried  out;  and  he  came  near  and  touched  the  bier, 
and  said,  Young  man,  I  say  unto  thee,  Arise;  and  he  that  was 
dead  sat  up,  and  began  to  speak."  And  not  only  in  the 
chamber  and  in  the  street,  from  the  bed  and  from  the  bier, 
did  Christ  call  the  dead  to  life.  His  voice  was  heard  with 
equal  effect  even  in  the  putrid  grave.  When  Lazarus  had 
been  "dead  four  days,"  and  so  long  buried  that  his  sisters 
said,  "Lord,  by  this  time  he  stiuketh,"  Jesus  "cried  with  a 
loud  voice,  Lazarus,  come  forth;  and  he  that  was  dead"  and 
putrid  obeyed  and  lived  again.  And  the  blessed  Savior  him- 
self, after  being  "crucified,  dead  and  buried,"  took  to  himself 
the  might  of  his  superior  nature,  and  came  forth  from  the 
sepulchre,  and  showed  himself  to  hundreds  with  many  notable 
signs.  In  these  cases  the  problem  has  been  solved,  and  the 
fact  demonstrated  forever,  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead.  Though  we  may  not  be  able  to 
comprehend  the  processes  by  which  it  shall  be  effected,  we 
may  rest  assured  that  it  is  no  idle  dream,  no  cunningly-devised 
fable,  butta  sublime  and  stupendous  reality. 

How  far  the  resurrection-body  is  to  be  identical  with  the 
body  which  dies  and  wastes  in  the  grave  has  not  been 
revealed.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  know  that  we  shall  rise  from 
the  dead,  without  being  able  to  understand  the  philosophy  of 
it.  Doubtless  we  will  leave  much  gross  matter  behind  us  in 
the  grave.  Xot  all  those  identical  particles  which,  by  that 
time,  may  be  wrought  over  and  over  in  nature's  vast  laboratory 
to  supply  still  other  bodies,  will  need  to  be  recovered  and  re- 
placed in  order  to  bring  about  the  resurrection.  "  That  which 
thou  sowest,  thou  sowest  not  that  body  that  shall  be,  but  bare 
grain;  but  God  giveth  it  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased  him.  So 


92  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

is  also  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  It  is  sown  in  corruption, 
it  is  raised  in  incorruption;  it  is  sown  in  dishonor,  it  is  raised 
in  glory:  it  is  sown  in  weakness,  it  is  raised  in  power;  it  is 
sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body.  There  is  a 
natural  body,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body."  And  yet,  in  the 
mysterious  transition  from  the  one  to  the  other,  identity  is 
preserved.  "For  this  corruptible  must  put  on  incorruption,  and 
this  mortal  must  put  on  immortality."  Otherwise  the  whole 
idea  of  resurrection  vanishes.  "We  believe  in  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body;"  and,  if  it  is  not  in  some  way  the  raising  of 
the  body  that  dies  and  is  buried,  the  whole  doctrine  amounts 
to  naught.  The  thing  is  so  mysterious,  and  so  far  removed 
from  our  present  experiences,  that  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
understand  it  fully;  but  this  we  must  adhere  to,  that  the 
transition  from  corruption  to  incorruption,  and  from  mortal  to 
immortality,  is  somehow  accomplished  in  the  same  body. 
Identity  does  not  necessarily  imply  the  continuation  of  all  and 
precisely  the  same  parts.  We  may  be  corporeally  identified  as 
the  same  men  ten  years  hence  that  we  are  now;  and  yet, 
according  to  what  physiologists  tell  us,  by  that  time  there  will 
hardly  be  a  particle  in  our  bodies  which  is  now  in  them. 
Great  changes  may  occur,  but  people  will  identify  us  as  the 
same  persons  then  that  we  are  now.  So,  then,  we  may  also 
lose  the  more  earthy  parts  of  our  material  organism,  and 
still  come  from  our  graves  with  bodies  refined  and  spiritual 
indeed,  but  still  interiorly  and  in  form  identical  with  those 
which  we  now  inhabit.  The  butterfly  is  the  sauie  animal  with 
the  caterpillar  which  preceded  it.  It  has  the  same  body.  It 
has  arisen  out  of  the  same  elements  which  constituted  the 
caterpillar;  though  it  has  left  much  gross  material  behind  it. 
The  seed  which  we  plant  is  the  same  that  afterwards  shoots  up 
into  a  stalk,  with  blades  and  blossoms;  so  that  we  point  to  it 
and  say,  "Here  is  the  flower  I  planted;"  although  much  of 
that  seed  decays  in  the  ground  and  mingles  with  the  dust. 


DIFFERENT   OPINIONS   ON   REV.  XX.  93 

And  so  the  present  mortal  body  is  the  germ  or  seed  of  the 
future  heavenly  body.  The  one  rises  out  of  the  other.  It  is 
the  same  creature  emerging  in  a  new  development.  And 
when  the  signal  for  our  reanimation  comes,  we  shall  gather  to 
ourselves  the  interior  essence  of  our  slumbering  dust,  emerge 
in  glory  from  our  graves,  and  go  forth  amid  the  sublimities  of 
a  life  in  which  body  and  soul  shall  enjoy  unsullied  and  im- 
mortal union. 

It  has  been  made  a  question,  however,  whether  the  text 
before  us  refers  to  the  literal  resurrection  of  the  dead.  It  is 
strange  to  see  to  what  fancies  men  have  resorted  to  do  away 
with  the  plain,  evident,  and  literal  import  of  the  apostle's 
words. 

Some  say  that  this  "first  resurrection,"  at  the  beginning  of 
the  millennium,  is  nothing  more  than  the  quickening  and  re- 
generation of  sinners  by  repentance  and  faith  in  Christ.  They 
take  it  as  a  spiritual  resurrection,  like  that  in  the  case  of  the 
returned  prodigal.  That  the  Scriptures  do  speak  of  the  sin- 
ner's recovery  as  a  resurrection,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
Whenever  a  wanderer  from  God  is  made  thoughtful,  prayerful 
and  penitent,  he  rises  out  of  moral  inanity  to  spiritual  activity. 
As  John  expresses  it,  he  passes  from  death  unto  life.  But 
this  moral  quickening  will  by  no  means  meet  the  case  before 
us.  The  resurrection  of  which  the  text  speaks  is  the  resur- 
rection of  such  as  had  already  been  raised  spiritually,  and  who 
partake  of  this  resurrection  because  they  were  before  "blessed 
and  holy."  It  is  the  resurrection,  not  of  those  who  sleep  in 
sin,  but  of  "them  that  sleep  in  Jesus ;"  not  of  those  who 
have  never  known  Christ,  but  of  "them  that  were  beheaded  for 
the  testimony  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God,  and  had  not 
worshipped  the  beast."  It  is  the  resurrection  of  those  who 
were  saints  without  it,  many  of  whom  had  so  loved  Christ  as 
to  lay  down  their  lives  for  him  and  his  gospel. 

Others  have  supposed  that  this  "first  resurrection"  is  purely 


94  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

ecclesiastical,  and  that  it  was  effected  in  the  days  of  Con- 
stantino the  Great,  when  the  visible  church  was  released  from 
the  cruel  pagan  persecutions,  legalized,  and  elevated  to  the 
patronage  of  government.  But  every  rightly-instructed  man 
knows  that  the  changes  wrought  by  Constantino  were  rather  a 
burial  of  the  true  church  than  a  resurrection  of  it.  So  far 
from  being  attended  with  blessedness  and  holiness,  it  was 
rather  the  opening  of  the  door  for  the  worst  degradations  and 
wickednesses  that  ever  despoiled  Christendom.  Instead  of 
binding  Satan,  he  was  then  first  let  fully  loose  upon  the 
gospel  to  corrupt  and  tarnish  it  with  his  foul  devices.  In 
place  of  introducing  the  reign  of  Christ  with  his  saints,  it 
laid  the  way  for  the  reign  of  the  Man  of  sin  with  his  corrupt 
adherents.  And,  so  far  from  making  men  "priests  of  God 
and  of  Christ,"  it  made  them  priests  "  after  the  working  ot 
Satan,  with  all  power,  and  signs,  and  lying  wonders,  with  all 
deceivableness  of  unrighteousness." 

Others,  again,  are  of  opinion  that  this  "first  resurrection" 
denotes  a  great  number  of  dissimilar  changes  relating  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  gospel  and  the  peace  of  the  world,  such  as 
the  general  conversion  of  the  wicked,  the  restoration  of  the 
Jews,  the  universal  diffusion  of  liberty  and  light,  and  the 
revival  of  Christianity  in  the  purity  in  which  it  was  embraced 
by  the  martyrs.  This  notion  was  first  set  on  foot  by  Whitby 
about  fifty  years  ago,  and  has  met  with  great  favor  from  some 
classes  of  teachers.  But  it  is  filled  with  inconsistencies  and 
surrounded  by  insuperable  objections.  The  resurrection  which 
the  text  speaks  of  is  the  resurrection  of  "them  that  were  be- 
headed for  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God, 
and  whoever  had  not  worshipped  the  beast  nor  his  image." 
The  wicked  never  were  beheaded  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus, 
or  for  the  word  of  God.  Their  deadness  in  trespasses  and 
in  sins  is  not  the  result  of  their  faithful  adherence  to  the  Son 
of  God.  The  Jewish  race,  which  now  lies  buried  among  the 


THIS    RESURRECTION    MANIFESTLY   LITERAL.  95 

nations,  was  not  denationalized  and  reduced  to  this  condition, 
in  consequence  of  bearing  testimony  for  Christ,  but  for  deny- 
ing and  crucifying  him.  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  that 
these  parties  should  be  the  subjects  of  the  resurrection  spoken 
of.  And  the  idea  that  the  resurrection  of  the  martyrs  denotes 
merely  the  revival  of  their  spirit  and  moral  qualities  is  at 
variance  with  the  text  in  another  respect.  The  apostle  is 
speaking  of  persons.  "I  saw  the  souls  of  them  that  had  been 
beheaded  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus; — and  they  lived  and 
reigned  with  Christ."  The  original  term  employed  is  v''f/faT, 
which  occurs  nearly  a  hundred  times  in  the  New  Testament, 
but  which  is  never  once  used  to  denote  characteristics  or 
attributes.  It  invariably  means  lives,  beings,  persons,  souls; 
as  where  we  read  there  "  were  in  the  ship  two  hundred  and 
seventy-six  souls;" — there  were  added  to  the  church  "about 
three  thousand  souls ;" — in  Noah's  ark  "eight  souls  were 
saved."  And  so  the  living  again  and  reigning  of  those  souls 
that  were  beheaded  for  their  fidelity  to  God,  must  mean  the 
resurrection,  not  of  their  spiritual  characteristics,  but  of  these 
beings  or  persons  themselves.  As  a  patient  student  and 
learned  critic  remarks,  "  It  is  a  literal  resurrection  that  is 
predicted  of  them  manifestly,  inasmuch  as  that  is  the  only 
resurrection  of  which  disembodied  saints  are  capable.  It 
certainly  is  not  a  renovation  of  heart,  as  they  were  renewed 
while  in  this  life,  and  are  made  priests  of  God  and  of  Christ, 
and  given  to  reign  with  him,  because  they  were  saints  here. 
As  their  resurrection  then  cannot  be  a  spiritual  change  analo- 
gous to  a  restoration  of  the  body  from  death,  it  must  neces- 
sarily be  a  corporeal  change.  That  it  is  to  be  a  corporeal 
resurrection  is  shown  moreover  by  the  representation  that  the 
rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  till  the  thousand  years  should  be 
finished.  The  rest  of  the  dead  are  the  literally  dead ;  not  the 
literally  living,  though  without  spiritual  life.  To  treat  that 
term  as  a  mere  metaphor,  is  to  deny  to  the  vision  the  character 


96  THE  LAST   TIMES- 

of  a  symbol  and  to  empty  the  whole  passage  of  its  mean- 
ing. If  the  death  of  those  who  are  not  partakers  of  the  first 
resurrection  be  but  metaphorical,  then  must  the  death  of 
the  martyrs  be  metaphorical  also,  and  thence  the  resurrection 
which  is  ascribed  to  the  souls  be  merely  metaphorical.  But 
that  is  to  make  the  passage  a  mere  assemblage  of  metaphors, 
without  any  thing  literal  from  which  the  figures  are  drawn  or 
to  which  they  are  applied,  and  to  divest  it  of  all  propriety 
and  significance.  If  the  souls  of  the  dead,  as  well  as  the 
resurrection,  be  mere  metaphors,  no  agents  whatever  are  left 
to  be  their  subjects;  and  they  are  predicates  without  any 
thing  of  which  they  are  affirmed, — metaphors  with  nothing 
which  they  metaphorize.  As  the  souls  exhibited  in  the 
vision  then  are  real  souls,  so,  also,  for  the  same  reason,  the 
rest  of  the  dead  are  the  real  dead,  and  the  resurrection  af- 
firmed of  the  one  and  denied  of  the  other  a  real  resurrection." 
(Lord's  Exp.  of  the  Apocalypse,  p.  519.)  Professor  Stuart 
also  treats  this  text  as  "simple  prose,"  and  endorses  "the 
exegesis  which  deduces  from  the  whole  passage  the  reality  of 
a  first  resurrection  at  the  introduction  of  the  millennium." 
(Com.,  in  foe.) 

The  facts  upon  which  those  rely  who  interpret  this  first 
resurrection  figuratively  are, — that  Ezekiel  has  the  restoration 
and  conversion  of  the  Jews  symbolized  to  him  under  the  re- 
suscitation of  the  dry  bones,  and  that  the  Savior  speaks  of  the 
repentance  and  recovery  of  the  prodigal  son  as  the  making 
alive  of  him  that  was  dead.  With  these  two  facts,  they  jump 
at  the  conclusion  that  the  resurrection  of  the  martyrs  and 
holy  ones  at  the  beginning  of  the  millennium  is  to  be  taken 
in  a  somewhat  similar  sense.  But,  when  we  draw  the  neces- 
sary distinctions  between  things  that  differ,  this  argument 
proves  the  exact  reverse  of  what  it  is  designed  to  establish. 
It  must  be  taken  as  a  settled  cation  of  interpretation  that 
where  a  resurrection  is  affirmed,  it  can  be  taken  only  in  the 


ARGUMENT    FROM    THE    CASE    OF    THE    MARTYRS.          97 

sense  of  the  presupposed  death.  So  in  both  these  instances 
the  resuscitations  are  the  exact  counterparts  of  the  previous 
deaths.  The  death  symbolized  by  the  valley  of  dry  bones  is 
plainly  described  as  both  a  national  and  moral  death;  and  the 
predicted  resurrection  is  accordingly  both  a  national  and  a 
moral  resurrection.  The  death  of  the  prodigal  son  was  a 
moral  and  spiritual  death;  and  his  resurrection  was  of  course 
of  the  same  kind.  And  so  it  must  also  be  in  the  case  before 
us.  But  what  sort  of  death  is  that  which  has  passed  upon 
the  martyrs,  and  upon  "those  who  were  beheaded  for  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God"  ?  Was  it  a  national 
death?  Nationally  the  martyrs  never  lived,  and  of  course 
could  not  nationally  die.  Was  theirs  a  spiritual  or  moral 
death?  No;  for  no  one  can  be  called  Christ's  witness, 
blessed  and  holy,  and  yet  be  dead  in  this  moral  sense. 
What  was  their  death,  then,  but  a  literal,  personal  and  indi- 
vidual death  ?  Was  it  not  a  death  in  the  real,  natural  and 
ordinary  meaning  of  that  word  ?  Well,  then,  here,  as  in  the 
other  cases,  as  was  the  death  so  shall  the  predicted  resur- 
rection be.  As  these  martyrs  and  saints  literally,  really 
and  personally  died,  and  in  that  sense  alone  are  dead,  so  shall 
they  again  be  literally,  really  and  personally  made  alive  again 
in  "the  first  resurrection;"  whilst  "the  rest  of  the  dead" 
sleep  on  "until  the  thousand  years  are  finished."  Spiritu- 
ally the  martyrs  are  not  dead ;  nationally  they  never  died ; 
influentially  they  are  not  dead.  They  have  had  their  succes- 
sors in  all  ages,  in  whom  their  qualities  and  spirit  have  never 
become  extinct.  They  yet  speak.  They  are  dead  corporeally, 
and  in  no  other  sense.  And  when  John  tells  us  that  they 
shall  live  again  in  the  first  resurrection,  he  can  mean  nothing 
but  a  corporeal  resuscitation.  The  wicked  who  die  in  their 
sins  are  not  to  be  spiritually  raised,  nor  nationally  raised,  nor 
influentially  raised.  When  they  die,  their  probation  ends, 
and  judgment  comes.  When  it  is  affirmed,  therefore,  that 
G  9 


98  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

they  shall  live  again,  it  can  only  be  understood  of  a  corporeal 
resurrection.  Yet  the  same  words,  in  the  same  verses,  which 
assert  the  resurrection  of  the  unsanctijird  dead,  assert  the 
resurrection  of  the  hofy  dead,  with  only  these  two  differences, 
thut  the  holy  rise  to  reign,  whilst  the  wicked  rise  to  burn,  and 
that  the  one  class  rises  a  thousand  years  in  advance  of  the 
other  class.  And  as  the  resurrection  of  the  wicked — "  the  rest 
of  the  dead" — at  the  final  judgment  can  be  taken  only  in  a 
corporeal  and  literal  sense,  so  the  first  resurrection — the  resur- 
rection of  the  "  blessed  and  holy" — must  also  be  received  in 
the  same  corporeal  and  literal  sense.  I  can  see  no  escape 
from  this  conclusion. 

I  feel  compelled,  therefore,  to  understand  the  text  as 
referring  to  the  literal  resurrection  of  the  dead.  I  can  find 
no  other  theory  which  will  meet  the  necessities  of  the  case,  or 
which  will  conform  to  sound  principles  of  interpretation.  I 
find  then  a  duality  in  the  resurrection  which  the  Scriptures 
teach.  It  is  twofold.  There  is  a  "first  resurrection"  at  the 
beginning  of  the  millennium,  and  there  is  a  resurrection  at 
the  end  of  the  millennium.  The  one  embraces  the  martyrs 
and  saints, — the  "blessed  and  holy," — "them  that  sleep  in 
Jesus;"  the  other  the  resurrection  of  "the  rest  of  the  dead." 
The  one  is  the  resurrection  which  we  are  taught  to  hope  for 
and  seek  after ;  the  other  a  something  about  which  the  Scrip- 
tures say  but  little,  and  which  promises  nothing  to  be  desired. 
The  one  is  a  resurrection  to  all  the  glories,  joys  and  honors 
of  a  perfected  redemption ;  the  other  a  resurrection  to  dismay, 
shame  and  everlasting  contempt. 

Nor  is  this  a  novel  doctrine.  Calmet  says,  "The  ancient 
fathers  acknowledged  a  twofold  resurrection :  first,  that  which 
is  to  precede  the  Messiah's  reign  of  a  thousand  years  upon 
earth;  secondly,  that  which  is  to  follow  the  reign  of  the 
thousand  years.  This  sentiment  is  found  clearly  enough  in 
the  second  book  of  Esdras,  in  the  testament  of  the  twelve 


RABBINICAL   TESTIMONY.  99 

patriarchs,  and  in  several  of  the  Rabbins."  Professor  Stuart 
declares  that  "  the  doctrine  of  a  first  resurrection  as  taught 
by  John  was  not  novel  to  the  men  of  his  time."  "  I  have  my 
doubts,"  says  he,  "whether  the  assertion  is  correct,  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  first  resurrection  is  nowhere  else  to  be  found 
in  the  Scriptures.  That  the  great  mass  of  Jewish  Rab- 
bins have  believed  and  taught  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  just,  in  the  days  of  Messiah's  development, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  on  the  part  of  him  who  has  made  any 
considerable  investigation  of  this  matter."  Thus,  Jonathan 
the  Paraphrast,  who  lived  thirty  years  before  Christ,  says  of 
the  people  of  God,  "They  shall  be  gathered  from  their 
captivity  ;  they  shall  live  under  the  shadow  of  Messiah  ;  the 
dead  shall  rise,  and  good  shall  increase  in  the  earth."  This 
is  based  on  the  last  chapter  of  Hosea.  Rabbi  Kinichi  says, 
"  The  holy  blessed  God  will  raise  the  dead  at  the  time  of  de- 
liverance." This  he  draws  from  Isaiah  xxvi.  19.  The  San- 
hcdrin,  cited  by  Aruch,  says,  "There  is  a  tradition  in  the 
house  of  Elias,  that  the  righteous  whom  the  holy  and  blessed 
God  shall  raise  from  the  dead  shall  not  return  again  to  the 
dust;  but  for  the  space  of  a  thousand  years,  in  which  the  holy 
blessed  God  will  renew  the  world,  they  shall  have  wings  like 
the  wings  of  eagles,  and  shall  fly  above  the  waters."  Another 
says,  "The  benefit  of  the  rain  is  common  to  the  just  and  the 
unjust,  but  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  is  the  peculiar 
privilege  of  those  who  live  righteously."  Chabbo  says,  "  The 
dead  in  the  land  of  Israel  shall  live  or  be  quickened  first 
in  the  days  of  Messiah,  and  shattTTTjoy  the  years  of  Messiah." 
Thus  also  in  Zohar  we  read,  upon  Isaiah  xxv.  8  : — "  The  world 
cannot  be  freed  from  sin  until  King-  Messiah  shall  come,  and 
the  blessed  God  shall  raise  up  those  who  sleep  in  the  dust." 
These,  and  many  like  sayings,  have  been  collected  by  critics 
from  the  most  ancient  of  the  Rabbinical  writings.  Corre- 
sponding passages  have  also  been  found  in  the  sacred  tra- 


100  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

ditions  of  the  heathen  world.  Of  course  no  Rabbinical 
testimony  or  mere  tradition  is  adequate  to  prove  an  article  of 
religious  faith;  but  these  quotations  are  not  without  their 
significance.  Where  did  these  men  get  such  ideas?  They 
for  the  most  part  profess  to  receive  them  from  the  writings  of 
the  inspired  prophets.  They  refer  us  to  Isaiah,  Ezekiel  and 
Daniel  as  their  authority.  Nor  are  their  interpretations  to  be 
discarded  as  necessarily  fanciful  and  erroneous  because  they 
belong  to  the  records  of  Rabbinic  lore.  It  is  a  sorry  wit 
which  takes  for  granted  that  a  man  cannot  be  guided  to  the 
truth  of  God  because  he  is  a  Jew.  These  ancient  Rabbins 
were  the  friends,  countrymen,  brethren  and  children  of 
Jehovah's  own  inspired  prophets,  and  may  be  our  guides  in 
many  things. 

The  passage  to  which  they  refer  us  in  Isaiah  (xxvi. 
19)  certainly  does  describe  a  resurrection, — a  joyous  resur- 
rection,— and  therefore  a  resurrection  of  the  just  only, —  and 
specifically  connects  it  with  the  coming  and  glorious  reign  of 
the  Lord  Messiah.  The  place  to  which  they  point  in  Ezekiel 
(xxxvii.)  certainly  describes  a  national  and  moral  resurrection, 
and  surrounds  it  with  promises  which  imply  also  the  literal 
resurrection  of  all  the  faithful  Israel  to  share  the  kingdom  of 
him  who  shall  be  their  Prince  forever.  And  what  they  cite 
from  Daniel,  (xii.  2,)  according  to  the  best  Hebraists,  not  only 
asserts  a  resurrection  which  all  take  to  be  literal,  but  draws  a 
plain  distinction  between  the  resurrection  of  the  just  and  the 
rest  of  the  dead.  Gaon  thus  paraphrases  it : — "And  many  of 
them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake;  this  is 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead  of  Israel,  whose  lot  is  to  eternal 
life;  but  those  who  do  not  awake  (at  that  time)  shall  be  an 
abhorrence  to  all  flesh."  This  agrees  with  the  translation  of 
Professor  Bush : — "  Many  from  out  of  the  sleepers  in  the  dust 
of  the  earth  shall  awake ;  these  (that  is,  those  who  awake,  shall 
be)  to  everlasting  life,  and  those  (who  do  not  then  awake  shall 


STATE   OF   THE   QUESTION   IN   CHRIST'S    TIME.          101 

be)  to  everlasting  contempt."  Thus  also  does  Professor 
Whiting  render  it: — "Many  from  the  sleepers  of  the  dust  of 
the  ground  shall  awake,  these  to  everlasting  life,  and  those 
to  reproaches  and  everlasting  abhorrence."  The  language  of 
Daniel  thus  accommodates  itself  exactly  to  the  language  of 
the  text.  The  martyrs  and  saints  arise:  "this  is  the  first 
resurrection.  But  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  again  until 
the  thousand  years  were  finished."  Daniel  is  unquestionably 
speaking  of  a  literal,  limited  and  eclectic  resurrection.  As 
Dr.  Hody  argues,  "if  many,  standing  alone,  could  signify  (.ill, 
many  of,  which  is  the  phraseology  of  this  text,  cannot  signify 
all.  Many  of  them  that  sleep  ki  the  dust  of  the  earth  cannot 
be  said  to  be  all  they  that  sleep  in  the  dust.  Many  of  does 
plainly  except  some."  And  if  there  is  to  be  a  limited  and 
eclectic  resurrection  when  the  great  Prince  shall  stand  up  for 
Israel,  and  yet  all  men  shall  be  made  alive  again,  the  point  is 
settled  that  there  must  be  a  twofold  resurrection,  just  as  John 
teaches  us  in  the  text. 

The  state  of  the  question,  in  the  period  in  which  the  New 
Testament  was  given,  was  therefore  simply  this : — The  ancient 
prophets  speak  of  a  resurrection  from  among  the  dead,  a  literal 
resurrection  to  eternal  life,  which  embraces  only  the  just,  and 
leaves  the  wicked  still  in  their  graves.  The  more  learned  and 
devout  Jews  so  understood  these  glorious  predictions,  and 
taught  the  doctrine  of  a  first  resurrection,  or  resurrection 
embracing  only  the  just.  The  doctrine  of  a  twofold  resur- 
rection was  therefore  no  strange  notion  to  those  who  lived  in 
the  time  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  but  familiar  to  the  minds 
of  many.  If  it  was  an  error,  we  would  naturally  expect  some 
contradiction  of  it  from  Christ  or  his  apostles.  The  absence 
of  such  contradiction  leaves  room  for  the  presumption  that  it 
was  not  an  error.  And  if  we  can  find  language  in  the  New 
Testament  adapted  only  to  this  belief,  and  framed  to  it  as  the 

9* 


102  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

truth,  the  presumption  in  its  favor  will  have  all  needful  sup- 
port to  furnish  ground  upon  which  to  insist  upon  it  as  a 
divine  certainty. 

Let  us  look,  then,  at  what  may  be  gathered  on  the  subject 
from  the  New  Testament. 

1.  I  think  you  will  find  it  invariably  true,  that  wherever 
the  resurrection  of  both  the  good  and  bad  are  spoken  of,  the 
resurrection  of  the  righteous  is  always  named  first,  and  that 
of  the  wicked  afterwards.     "All   that  are  in  their  graves 
shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come  forth  :  (1)  they  that  have 
done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life ;  and  (2)  they  that 
have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation."    "  There 
shall  be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead  both  (1)  of  the  just  and 
(2)  unjust." 

2.  The  resurrection  of  the  righteous  is  specifically  said  to 
precede  the  resurrection  of  the  wicked.     "  As  in  Adam  all 
die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.     But  every  man 
in  his  own  ra^/ta, — band,  cohort,  company:  Christ  the  first- 
fruits;  afterward  they  that  are  Christ's  at  his  coming;  eTra  TO 
T£J.o<;, — then  the  last  band."     "  The  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise 
first."     "  The  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  again  until  the 
thousand  years  were  finished." 

3.  The  resurrection  of  the  righteous  is  everywhere  spoken 
of  as  a  peculiar  blessing,  in  which  the  wicked  have  no  share 
whatever.     Of  every  one  that  seeth  the  Son  and  believeth  on 
him,  Jesus  says,  "  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day ;"  thus 
distinctly  intimating  that  none  but  believers  shall  share  in  the 
resurrection  here  contemplated.     He  speaks  of  "the  resur- 
rection  of  the  just"   as  something  quite   distinct  from  any 
thing  in  which  the  unjust  shall  have  a  part.     He  says  that 
"  the  children  of  the  resurrection  are  equal  unto  the  angels, 
and  are  the  children  of  God,"  and  "  are  as  the  angels  which 
are  in  heaven."     Here  he  certainly  speaks  of  a  resurrection 
from  which  the  wicked  are  quite  excluded.     See  also  Romans 


FACTS    FROM    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  103 

viii.  23 ;    1  Cor.  vi.  14  ;    2  Cor.  iv.  14  : — "Blessed  and  holy 
is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first  resurrection." 

4.  The  resurrection  of  the  righteous  is  plainly  spoken  of 
as  eclectic.  One  instance  is  in  Luke  xx.  35,  where  the  Savior 
speaks  of  those  worthy  of  heaven  as  destined  "  to  obtain  the 
resurrection" — not  merely  "from  tlic  dead,"  as  our  version 
reads,  but  ty.  vz-/.pu>v — "  OUT  OF,  or  FROM  AMONGST  the  dead 
ones."  This  certainly  implies  the  raising  of  some,  that  is,  the 
saints,  whilst  the  rest  of  the  dead  remain  in  their  graves. 
Another  instance  is  in  Philippians  iii.  11,  where  Paul  speaks 
of  his  strong  desire  and  great  exertions  to  "attain  unto  TTJV 
ez-avaffraffty  TWV  vexpwv, — the  resurrection  FROM  AMONGST  the 
dead  ones."  What  did  Paul  mean  by  this  ?  "Of  his  resur- 
rection at  the  end  of  the  world,  when  all  without  exception 
will  surely  be  raised,  he  could  have  no  possible  doubt,"  says 
Professor  Stuart.  "  What  sense  then  can  this  passage  have,  if 
it  represents  him  as  laboring  and  suffering  merely  in  order  to 
attain  to  A  resurrection,  and  as  holding  this  up  to  view  as 
unattainable  unless  he  should  arrive  at  a  high  degree  of  Chris- 
tian perfection  ?  On  the  other  hand,  let  us  suppose  a  first 
resurrection  to  be  appointed  as  a  special  reward  of  high 
attainments  in  Christian  virtue,  and  all  seems  to  be  plain  and 
easy.  Of  a  resurrection  in  a  figurative  sense,  i.  e.  of  regene- 
ration, Paul  cannot  be  speaking ;  for  he  had  already  attained 
to  that  on  the  plain  of  Damascus."  Both  these  passages 
bring  before  us  the  whole  congregation  of  the  really  dead, 
and  describe  the  resurrection  of  which  they  speak  as  a  selec- 
tion (ex)  out  of  or  from  among  that  great  company,  taking 
some,  and  leaving  others.  The  second  is  particularly  remark- 
able. For  if  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  are  all  to  be  raised 
together,  Paul  might  have  saved  his  pains  to  attain  to  a  resur- 
rection of  which  he  would  have  at  all  events  been  partaker. 
"  Of  like  tenor,"  says  Stuart,  "  is  the  implication  in  Luke  xiv. 
14,  where  the  Savior  promises  to  his  disciples  a  sure  reward 


104  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

for  kindness  to  the  poor  and  suffering,  at  the  resurrection  of 
the  Just.  Why  the  resurrection  of  the  just? — What  special 
meaning  can  this  have,  unless  it  implies  that  there  is  a  resur- 
rection where  the  just  only,  and  not  the  unjust,  will  be  raised  ? 
This  would  agree  entirely  with  the  view  in  Rev.  xx.  5 : — '  But 
the  rest  of  the  dead  LIVED  NOT  AGAIN,  until  the  thousand 
years  were  finished.'  " 

Now,  when  we  come  -to  sum  up  all  these  facts,  and  assign 
them  the  force  which  belongs  to  the  words  of  inspiration,  the 
conclusion  is  to  me  unavoidable,  that  the  doctrine  of  a  two- 
fold resurrection  has  a  solid  foundation  in  the  Scriptures. 
The  resurrection  of  the  holy  is  entirely  separated,  in  nature 
and  in  point  of  time,  from  the  resurrection  of  "the  rest  of 
the  dead/'  Strike  this  doctrine  from  the  Apocalypse,  and  we 
still  have  it  in  the  epistles  of  Paul.  Strike  it  from  the  epis- 
tles, and  we  still  have  it  in  the  teachings  of  Jesus  himself. 
Strike  it  from  the  whole  New  Testament,  and  we  still  have  it 
firm  and  unshaken  in  the  holy  prophecies  of  Daniel  and 
Isaiah.  But  let  the  hand  be  withered  that  attempts  to  strike 
it  from  any  portion  of  the  word  of  God.  It  is  there,  distinct 
and  clear,  authorizing  all  the  saints  to  hope  for  the  redemption 
of  their  bodies,  and  their  corporeal  transformation,  so  soon  as 
the  millennium  shall  begin. 

Here,  then,  is  another  argument  for  the  doctrine  of 
Christ's  premillennial  coming.  The  resurrection  of  the 
saints  is  everywhere  connected  with  his  final  advent.  "All 
shall  be  made  alive ;  they  that  are  Christ's  at  his  coming." 
"  Them  that  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him.  For 
the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  :  and  the  dead 
in  Christ  shall  rise  first."  "  When  he  shall  appear,  we  shall 
be  like  him."  But  the  resurrection  and  glorification  of  the 
saints  is  just  as  clearly  connected  with  the  beginning  of  the 
millennium.  There  can  be  no  millennium  whilst  the  wilful 
king  continues  to  "  exalt  himself,  and  magnify  himself  above 


ASPECT   OF  DEATH   TO   THE   RIGHTEOUS.  105 

every  god,  and  speak  marvellous  things  against  the  God  of 
gods;"  and  the  fall  of  this  antichristian  power,  and  the  glo- 
rious resurrection  proclaimed  by  Daniel,  are  contemporaneous. 
"  He  shall  come  to  his  end,  and  none  shall  help  him.  AND 
AT  THAT  TIME  God's  people  shall  be  delivered,  every  one  that 
shall  be  found  written  in  the  book ;  and  many  of  them  that 
sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake."  So  in  the  text, 
the  millennium,  or  the  period  of  the  thousand  years,  is  intro- 
duced by  the  rising  and  living  again  of  "  them  that  were 
beheaded  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God, 
and  which  had  not  worshipped  the  beast  nor  his  image." 
These  holy  ones  are  to  "  live  and  reign  with  Christ  the  thou- 
sand years ;"  and  so  their  resurrection  must  occur  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  thousand  years.  And  as  they  that  are  Christ's  arise 
"at  his  coming,"  his  coming  must  be  before. the  millennium. 
Such,  then,  is  the  glorious  hope  of  the  Lord's  people. 
Very  soon  shall  Christ  their  deliverer  come,  and  change  them 
into  a  full  likeness  to  himself.  Then  shall  his  victory  over 
death  be  manifest.  "  Because  he  lives,  we  shall  live  also." 
"  For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so 
them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him." 
And  how  many  sunny  thoughts  cluster  around  this  doctrine  ! 

There  is  nothing  so  repulsive  to  our  natural  instincts  as 
death.  There  are  few  people  who  do  not  feel  a  cold  shudder 
creeping  through  and  through  them  whenever  they  realize 
the  thought  that  they  must  die,  and  have  the  coffin-lid  screwed 
down  upon  their  foreheads,  and  be  covered  up  with  clods  in 
the  damp  dark  ground.  But  the  hope  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  just  throws  a  radiance  round  the  death-bed  and  the  grave, 
and  helps  to  reconcile  us  to  the  mysterious  change.  To  a 
good  man,  the  sepulchre  is  but  the  gateway  to  a  better  world, 
— the  resting-place  for  the  wasted  and  wearied  body  previous 
to  going  forth  into  the  bliss  and  honors  of  a  divine  and  eternal 


106  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

kingdom.  Its  shades  are  but  a  quiet  night  anterior  to  an 
everlasting  day.  Death  is  but  a  sleep,  which  presupposes  a 
future  awakening.  "  An  eternal  sleep"  is  a  contradiction  in 
terms, — a  miserable  solecism, — a  mode  of  speech  the  very 
phraseology  of  which  brands  the  atheistic  invention  with  ab- 
surdity. Sleep  is  but  the  temporary  suspension  of  animation 
for  the  purpose  of  refreshment  and  invigoration.  It  is  always 
succeeded  by  a  waking.  And  such  is  death  to  the  Christian. 
Jesus  has  transmuted  it  into  a  refreshing  sleep,  from  which  we 
shall  early  arise,  in  renewed  strength  and  glory,  for  the  scenes 
and  employments  of  a  day  which  shall  have  no  night.  The 
New  Testament  nearly  always  speaks  of  the  departure  of  the 
believing  as  a  sleep.  Jesus  said,  "  Our  friend  Lazarus  slecp- 
ctli ;  but  I  go  that  I  may  awake  him  out  of  sleep."  "The 
saints  which  slept"  is  familiar  phraseology  to  the  reader  of 
the  Scriptures.  "David,  after  he  had  served  his  own  genera- 
tion, fell  on  sleep."  As  the  first  martyr  died,  Luke  said  he 
"fell  asleep."  Paul  comforted  the  mourning  Thessalonians, 
by  assuring  them  that  their  pious  dead  "  are  asleep," — only 
"  asleep," — to  be  waked  to  life  again  when  Jesus  comes.  And 
so  all  the  saints  that  have  departed  this  life  are  said  to  "  sleep 
in  Jesus." 

Yes,  Christian  parent,  that  child  which  so  suddenly  sick- 
ened, withered  and  faded  in  your  arms,  and  which  with  so 
much  sadness  you  yielded  to  the  cold  dark  grave,  is  not  lost 
and  gone  eternally.  It  only  sleeps — sweetly  sleeps — in  the 
arms  of  its  Maker.  You  buried  it ;  but  you  buried  it  looking 
for  the  resurrection  of  the  last  day,  when  it  shall  awake  to  be 
yours  forever.  Weep  not,  0  daughter,  as  if  that  sainted 
mother  whom  you  last  saw  dressed  for  the  tomb  shall  never 
look  upon  you  again  with  her  wonted  love  and  tenderness. 
She  is  thy  mother  still.  She  is  not  dead,  but  sleepeth.  She 
will  awake  again,  and  take  you  to  her  heart  as  fondly  as  ever. 
Sorrow  not  as  they  that  have  no  hope,  0  stricken  one,  mourn- 


THE  GLORY  OF  THE  RESURRECTION.        107 

ing  over  a  husband's  grave.  He  has  only  laid  him  down  to 
rest  in  soft  slumber.  God's  eye  is  on  that  prostrate  buried 
form.  And  when  thy  loved  one's  Savior  conies  he  will  shake 
off  his  sepulchral  covering,  and  be  thy  constant  friend  as  in 
the  days  gone  by. 

"  Soon  shall  you  meet  again, 

Meet  ne'er  to  sever : 
Soon  will  peace  wreath  her  chain 
Hound  you  forever." 

And  what  a  reunion  of  hearts  and  exchange  of  happy 
gratulations  shall  crown  and  crowd  that  day !  What  glorious 
meetings  and  triumphs  will  then  be  celebrated !  What  devout 
and  anxious  hopes  shall  then  be  consummated !  Then  shall 
Jesus  say,  "Awake  and  sing,  ye  that  dwell  in  the  dust;"  and 
they  shall  obey  his  call,  and  rise  to  praise  him  forever.  Then 
will  the  once-afflicted  saints  of  every  age  and  clime  "  stand 
drest  in  robes  of  everlasting  wear."  Then  shall  those  who 
denied  themselves  and  took  up  the  cross  receive  their  crowns. 
Then  shall  the  wisdom  of  their  "  respect  unto  the  recom- 
pense of  the  reward"  be  vindicated  forever.  Then  shall  God 
glorify  his  Son  by  transforming  millions  into  his  glorious 
image.  And  "then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that 
is  written,  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  rlctory." 

Earth,  my  brethren,  has  been  the  theatre  of  some  splendid 
victories,  the  fame  of  which  has  filled  the  world  and  echoed 
along  the  corridors  of  ages.  But  never  has  earth  beheld  such 
a  triumph  as  that  which  shall  be  realized  at  the  resurrection 
of  the  just.  Then  shall  be  enacted  another  genesis,  more 
glorious  than  the  first.  Then  shall  be  performed  another 
exodus,  more  illustrious  than  that  which  Moses  led.  Then 
shall  truth  triumph  over  error,  and  faith  over  unbelief,  hu- 
mility over  pride,  life  over  death,  and  immortality  over  the 
grave.  Then  shall  the  cross  give  way  to  the  crown,  and  cor- 
ruption to  glory;  and  from  the  mold  and  ashes  of  every 


108  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

Christian's  tomb  shall  come  forth  an  undying  form,  radiant 
•with  the  transforming  touch  of  Deity, — a  dear-bought  but 
sublime  and  imperishable  monument  to  the  resurrection  and 
the  life.  The  graves  of  the  patriarchs  shall  open.  The  scat- 
tered dust  and  ashes  of  prophets,  apostles  and  martyrs  shall 
be  gathered.  Unknown  saints  of  God  that  have  died  in  gar- 
rets, and  cellars,  and  barns,  and  dungeons, — and  lowly  and 
despised  poor  in  Christ  who  sleep  in  potters' -fields, — shall 
spring  forth  from  their  unnoticed  graves  in  sublimer  glory 
than  ever  adorned  the  illustrious  Solomon.  Precious  inno- 
cents, whose  names  were  never  heard,  and  lamented  children, 
that  molder  in  their  little  tombs,  and  pious  afflicted  ones,  who 
spent  their  days  in  pain  secluded  from  the  gay  world, — all, 
all  shall  then  forsake  their  resting-places  and  shine  as  the 
stars  forever  and  ever.  Then  shall  all  the  people  of  God  of 
all  lands  and  ages,  mysteriously  united  in  one  gracious  bro- 
therhood of  faith,  join  in  one  great  congregation,  celebrating 
with  untold  joy  the  sublime  epiphany  of  their  redeeming 
Lord,  and  with  their  million  tongues  in  heavenly  concord 
singing  the  triumphs  of  that  salvation  for  which  they  lived, 
and  hoped,  and  died. 

"  Oh,  scenes  surpassing  fable,  and  yet  true  ! 
Scenes  of  accomplished  bliss  !  which,  who  can  see, 
Though  but  in  distant  prospect,  and  not  feel 
His  soul  refreshed  with  foretastes  of  the  joy?" 

Nor  are  the  saints  that  have  died  to  be  the  only  participants 
in  the  happy  victory.  All  the  holy  who  live  in  the  flesh  when 
the  blessed  Savior  comes  shall  be  copartners  in  the  glory. 
And  what  will  add  to  the  rejoicing  of  this  particular  class  is, 
that  they  will  never  die  at  all.  They  shall  not  even  sleep 
with  their  fathers.  "  Behold,  I  shew  you  a  mystery,"  says 
Paul.  "  "We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed, 
in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump ; 
for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised 


A    SUBLIME    THOUGHT.  109 

incorruptible,  and  we  shall  be  changed."  "  The  dead  in  Christ 
shall  rise  first :  then  we  which  are  alive  and  remain  shall  be 
caught  up  together  with  them."  And  what  a  thought  is  this, 
that  there  perhaps  are  some  listening  to  me  now  who  shall 
never  know  by  experience  what  death  is  !  Those  of  Christ's 
people  who  are  living  when  he  comes  shall  of  a  sudden  feel 
the  thrill  of  immortality  careering  through  them,  and  find 
themselves  transported  to  join  the  children  of  the  resurrec- 
tion. Not  one  of  them  that  truly  believe  in  Jesus  shall  be 
left  behind.  The  humblest  and  obscurest,  the  lowest  with  the 
highest,  all  shall  be  taken  together.  For  "  he  shall  send  forth 
his  angels,  with  a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall 
gather  together  his  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  one  end 
of  heaven  to  the  other."  And  they  shall  live  and  reign  with 
Christ  the  thousand  years.  "  And  so  shall  we  ever  be  with 
the  Lord."  And  thenceforward  forever  shall  this  song  be 
sung : — 

"  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men, 
And  he  will  dwell  with  them, 
And  they  shall  be  his  people, 
And  God  himself  shall  bo  with  them, 
And  be  their  God. 

And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes; 
And  there  shall  be  no  more  death, 
Neither  sorrow,  nor  crying, 
Neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain : 
For  the  former  things  are  passed  away." 

Verily,  "  blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first 
resurrection  1"  Was  there  ever  conceived  such  a  system  of 
grace  and  glory  as  that  which  constitutes  the  gospel  of  Jesus  ? 
How  precious  are  its  promises !  How  transporting  are  its 
hopes !  How  it  meets  the  vast  desires  of  humanity,  and 
pours  consolation  into  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  sorrow ! 
What  is  there  to  compare  with  it  ?  Atheism,  with  its  eternal 
sleep,  may  stupefy  the  soul,  and  render  it  somewhat  callous  to 

10 


110  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

the  woes  of  life.  But  how  sad  and  cheerless  is  the  epitaph 
which  it  writes  on  the  tomb  !  Heathen  philosophy,  with  its 
transmigrations  and  feeble  guesses,  may  excite  some  dull  and 
low  concern  for  futurity;  but  how  gloomy  is  the  destiny  which 
it  sets  before  man  !  It  is  only  Christianity,  with  its  resurrec- 
tion and  another  life,  that  can  at  all  rouse  man  into  a  proper 
consciousness  of  his  dignity,  or  satisfy  the  lofty  and  mighty 
aspirations  that  well  up  from  his  heart.  This  is  our  glorious 
hope,  the  price  of  which  cannot  be  equalled  with  gold. 

And  how  devoutly  thankful  should  we  then  be  for  what 
God  has  done  for  us  and  purposed  concerning  us !  How 
should  our  hearts  soften  at  the  contemplations  before  us,  and 
swell  with  emotions  of  love  towards  so  great  a  Benefactor ! 
How  should  we  be  concerned  to  find  out  the  will  of  such  a 
friend,  and  seek  to  approve  ourselves  unto  him  !  How  cheer- 
fully should  we  hail  him  as  the  chief  among  ten  thousand, 
and  the  one  altogether  lovely !  How  gladly  should  we  set  our- 
selves to  do  his  gracious  commands,  and  to  keep  his  loving 
counsels !  In  him  is  our  strength,  our  hope,  and  our  joy. 
He  is  not  ashamed  to  be  our  God,  and  surely  we  should  not 
be  ashamed  to  be  his  people,  "  looking  for  that  blessed  hope, 
even  the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God,  our  Savior 
Jesus  Christ/'  Let  us,  then,  give  ourselves  to  him,  body  and 
soul,  as  a  living  sacrifice,  which  is  our  reasonable  service.  Let 
us  fully  identify  ourselves  with  Jesus,  knowing  that  "when 
he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as 
he  is."  And,  especially,  let  us  not  forget  that  "  every  man 
that  hath  this  hope  in  him  purifieth  himself,  even  as  the 
Savior  is  pure."  He  hath  prepared  for  us  a  city;  but  "there 
shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  any  thing  that  defileth,  neither 
whatsoever  worketh  abomination,  or  niaketh  a  lie."  It  is  only 
"  tlie  holy'  who  shall  have  part  in  the  first  resurrection. 
"  The  fearful,  and  unbelieving,  and  the  abominable,  and  mur- 
derers, and  whoremongers,  and  sorcerers,  and  idolaters,  and 


MOMENTOUS   QUESTIONS.  Ill 

all  liars,  shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  which  burneth  with 
fire  and  brimstone,  which  is  the  second  death."  It  is  only 
"  unto  them  that  look  for  him"  that  "  he  shall  appear  the 
second  time  unto  salvation." 

My  dear  friends,  let  me  then  ask  each  of  you  individually 
whether  you  are  a  Christian.  Have  you  joined  yourself  to 
the  company  of  those  who  are  seeking  for  a  part  in  the  first 
resurrection  ?  Are  you  looking  for  the  coming  of  Jesus,  and 
diligently  engaged  "  that  you  may  be  found  of  him  in  peace, 
without  spot,  and  blameless"  ?  Do  you  hunger  and  thirst 
after  righteousness,  mourning  over  your  sins,  and  meekly 
yielding  to  the  word  and  will  of  the  blessed  Savior  ?  Are  you 
seeking  to  lay  up  treasures  in  heaven,  where  moths  corrupt 
not,  and  thieves  conic  not  to  steal  ?  Are  you  looking  at  these 
great  things,  not  seen  as  yet,  but  which  are  soon  to  be  revealed 
to  the  everlasting  joy  of  the  faithful  ?  Oh,  think  it  not  a 
bitter  thing  to  be  a  Christian,  or  that  I  am  interfering  with 
your  comfort  when  I  urge  you  to  be  pious  and  good.  It  is 
your  highest  happiness  that  I  am  consulting.  It  is  your 
sublimest  pleasure  that  I  would  have  you  secure.  I  ask  you 
to  come  to  Christ,  only  that  you  may  escape  ruin  and  be  a 
partaker  of  joy,  and  peace,  and  glory  everlasting.  You  can- 
not be  at  peace  whilst  unreconciled  to  God.  It  is  only  by 
becoming  holy  that  you  shall  cease  from  being  miserable. 
Come,  then,  to  Jesus,  who  invites  and  entreats  you  to  come, 
and  find  rest  for  your  souls.  Come,  come ;  and  he  who  laid 
down  his  life  for  you,  will  not  deny  you  a  hearty  welcome. 
Come,  and  share  in  that  blessed  inheritance  which  is  the  joy 
of  angels  and  of  Christ.  Put  it  not  off  for  a  single  day 
longer.  Let  your  penitential  prayer  at  once  go  up,  "  God,  be 
merciful  to  me  a  sinner!"  And  may  the  Lord  help  you,  and 
guide  you,  and  bring  us  all  to  be  of  that  happy  number  who 
attain  unto  the  resurrection  of  the  just ! 


FIFTH  DISCOURSE. 


THE  MESSIAH'S  KINGDOM — now  SPOKEN  OF  BY  THE  ANCIENT  PRO- 
PHETS—  HOW   APPREHENDED   BY  THE   SAVIOR'S   CONTEMPORARIES — 

HOW  SPOKEN  OF  IN  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT — SPECIFICALLY  CONNECTED 
WITH  THE  SECOND  ADVENT — THE  PRESENT  DISPENSATION  NOT  THE 
MESSIAH'S  GLORIOUS  REIGN. 


DAN.  vii.  13, 14 :  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and  behold,  one  like  the 
Son  of  man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to  the 
Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before  him.  And 
there  was  given  him  dominion  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all 
people,  nations  and  languages  should  serve  him :  his  dominion  is 
an  everlasting  dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  king- 
dom that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed. 

THAT  this  vision  contains  a  prophecy  concerning  "the  last 
times,"  will  not  be  denied.  That  the  "one  like  the  Son  of 
man"  is  Jesus  Christ,  in  his  glorified  human  nature,  is  ad- 
mitted on  all  hands.  That  his  "coming  with  the  clouds  of 
heaven"  refers  to  his  final  advent  in  this  world,  is  also  the 
common  belief  of  interpreters.  His  being  led  to  the  Ancient  of 
days  to  receive  dominion,  plainly  denotes  his  investiture  with 
rulership,  and  his  inauguration  into  the  august  office  of  the 
almighty  Sovereign  of  the  nations.  This  dominion  is  some- 
thing more  than  his  present  spiritual  reign  in  men's  hearts ; 
for  he  does  not  enter  upon  it  until  he  comes  in  the  clouds.  It 
is  also  a  kingdom  the  affairs  of  which  are  to  be  administered 
by  Christ  in  person,  or  by  those  under  his  immediate  control 
and  direction ;  for  it  is  given  to  him  as  the  Son  of  man,  and 
his  personal  descent  at  the  time  of  receiving  it  is  explicitly 
112 


CHRIST  WILL  REIGN   PERSONALLY  ON   EARTH.         llo 

affirmed.  It  must  also  be  a  visible  and  terrestrial  kingdom, 
for  "nations"  are  mentioned  as  its  subjects. 

The  doctrine  which  I  accordingly  deduce  from  this  text, 
and  which  I  shall  aim  to  set  forth  in  this  discourse,  is,  That 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  return  a-jain  to  this  world,  and  here 
set  up  a  visible  Christocracy ,  or  empire  of  his  own,  and  per- 
sonally rcifjn  over  the  nations  in  the  bliss  and  glory  of  a  uni- 
versal and  eternal  kingdom.  There  are  many  good  people 
who  believe  no  such  thing.  My  main  object  will  therefore  be 
to  prove  it  by  solid  Scriptural  arguments.  And  if  I  can  show 
that  it  has  a  firm  foundation  in  the  word  of  God,  I  certainly 
have  a  right  to  claim  for  it  the  respect  due  to  a  doctrine  of 
inspiration.  Let  us  then  approach  the  subject  with  humble 
reverence,  sincerely  desirous  to  learn  the  truth,  and  earnestly 
praying  that  God  may  give  us  a  proper  insight  to  this  wonder- 
ful mystery. 

I.  I  remark  then,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  prophecies  of 
the  Old  Testament,  when  taken  in  their  plain  and  natural 
sense,  certainly  predict  the  Messiah  as  a  great  prince  who 
shall  reign  in  this  world.  To  establish  this  remark  I  appre- 
hend to  be  no  difficult  task.  The  very  first  words  that  ever 
were  uttered  concerning  Christ  already  imply  it.  When  God 
reckoned  with  Adam,  though  he  excluded  him  from  Paradise, 
he  left  him  this  consoling  promise: — The  seed  of  the  woman 
shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head.  Satan  had  assailed  our  first 
parents,  and  overcome  them.  By  that  victory  he  became  the 
reigning  prince  of  this  world,  and  to  this  day  he  holds  his 
dark  supremacy  in  nearly  every  department  of  the  earth.  The 
crushing  of  this  serpent's  head  can  mean  nothing  less  than  the 
demolition  of  Satan's  empire,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
empire  of  the  woman's  seed  in  its  place.  And  if  Christ,  as 
{lie  Son  of  niau,  is  to  displace  Satan,  and  reign  over  the 
nations  as  Satan  now  rules  over  them,  nothing  short  of  a  visible, 

real  and  universal  empire  can  be  the  result 
H  10* 


114  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

The  next  distinct  allusion  to  this  "seed"  is  in  God's  cove- 
nant with  Abraham,  where  it  is  said  that  he  shall  "possess  the 
gate  of  his  enemies,  and  all  nations  of  the,  earth  be  blessed  in 
him."  Paul  tells  us  that  this  promise  did  not  belong  to 
Abraham's  posterity  at  large,  but  only  to  "one,  which  is 
Christ."  To  possess  an  enemy's  gate  is  to  conquer  that 
enemy, — to  take  his  last  defence.  And  when  it  is  said  of 
Christ,  that  he  shall  possess  the  gates  of  his  enemies,  and 
bless  all  nations,  we  have  before  us  the  idea  of  a  great,  vic- 
torious and  universal  prince,  making  himself  the  master  and 
the  benefactor  of  the  world. 

Another  reference  to  the  same  thing  we  find  in  Hannah's 
song,  where  it  is  said,  "  The  Lord  shall  judge  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  and  he  shall  give  strength  to  his  King,  and  exalt  the 
horn  of  his  anointed."  Here  too  we  have  the  princedom  of 
the  Messiah  in  this  world,  and  his  universal  sovereignty, 
pointedly  asserted. 

In  God's  promises  to  David  we  have  the  matter  still  more 
particularly  amplified.  God  says  to  the  monarch  of  Israel, 
"  When  thy  days  be  fulfilled,  and  thou  shalt  sleep  with  thy 
fathers,  2  will  set  up  thy  seed  after  thee,  and  1  icill  establish 
his  kingdom,  and  the  throne  of  his  kingdom,  forever.  And 
THINE  HOUSE,  and  THY  KINGDOM  shall  be  established  forever 
before  thee  :  THY  THRONE  SHALL  BE  ESTABLISHED  FOREVER." 

If  this  promise  refers  pre-eminently  to  Christ  "  the  Son  of 
David,"  as  all  agree  that  it  does,  then  he  is  to  be  a  great 
earthly  prince;  for  he  is  to  occupy  a  throne,  and  possess  a 
kingdom;  and  that  throne  and  kingdom  are  identical  with  the 
throne  and  kingdom  of  his  father  David.  Much  as  men  may 
dislike  to  admit  this,  here  is  God's  promise,  in  words  as  plain 
as  any  man  can  use.  David  had  an  empire  in  this  world;  and 
he  reigned  as  a  prince  in  this  world;  and  God  says  that  his 
promised  Son  shall  take  David's  place,  and  establish  David's 
throne  forever.  David  himself  certainly  so  understood  the 


ARGUMENT   FROM   THE   PROPHETS.  115 

promise,  and  by  divine  inspiration  so  prophesied  of  it  in  the 
Psalms.  As  he  had  his  court  in  Mount  Zion,  so  he  represents 
his  illustrious  Son  as  "King  upon  (he  hoty  hill  of  Zion,"  with 
the  heathen  given  to  him  for  his  inheritance,  and  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession.  "He  shall  have 
dominion  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth.  Yea,  kings  shall  fall  down  before  him :  all  nations 
sJiall  serve  him."  Who  can  listen  to  such  language  with  an 
unbiassed  mind,  and  not  gather  from  it  the  idea,  that  the  pro- 
phet is  here  speaking  of  some  great  and  mighty  king,  who  is 
to  sway  the  sceptre  of  literal  empire  over  the  inhabitants  of 
this  world? 

Turn  now  to  Isaiah,  the  great  evangelical  prophet,  and  see 
how  he  describes  the  Messiah.  "Unto  us  a  child  is  born, 
\into  us  a  son  is  given,  and  his  name  shall  be  called,  Wonder- 
ful, Counselor,  The  mighty  God,  The  Father  of  the  everlasting 
ago,  The  Prince  of  peace."  Xobody  misunderstands  this.  All 
take  the  words  just  as  they  are  written,  without  looking  after 
some  mystical  or  allegorical  meaning.  By  what  authority, 
then,  shall  we  reject  the  literal  acceptation  of  what  follows  ? 
"And  the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder.  Of  the 
increase  of  his  government  and  peace  there  shall  be  no  end, 
UPON  THE  THRONE  OF  DAVID,  AND  UPON  HIS  KINGDOM,  to 
order  IT,  and  to  establish  IT  with  judgment  and  with  justice 
from  henceforth  even  forever."  What  could  more  unequi- 
vocally describe  the  Messiah  as  a  great  prince,  reigning  in 
David's  place  in  this  world? 

If  we  turn  to  Jeremiah,  we  find  the  Savior  spoken  of  in  the 
same  manner.  "  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that 
/  will  raise  UNTO  DAVID  a  righteous  Branch,  and  a  KING 
shall  reign  and  prosper,  and  sliall  execute  justice  and  judg- 
mnit  IN  THE  EARTH.  In  h is  days  JUDAII  shall  be  saved,  and 
ISRAEL  shall  dwell  safely."  "And  they  shall  serve  the  Lord 


110  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

their  God,  and  David  their  Kiny  (in  his  promised  Son~)  u-hom 
I  will  raise  up  unto  them." 

These  are  very  plain  and  positive  predictions.  Others  of 
like  import  might  be  presented.  Here  and  elsewhere,  the 
Messiah  is  again  and  again  called  a  king.  He  is  to  possess 
and  occupy  David's  throne.  He  is  to  be  a  conqueror  of  his 
enemies  and  the  possessor  of  their  cities.  He  is  to  reign  over 
the  nations.  He  is  to  be  the  commander  around  whose  banner 
the  Gentiles  shall  be  gathered.  His  kingdom  is  to  be  the 
identical  kingdom  of  David,  reestablished,  exalted,  extended 
over  all  the  earth,  and  made  forever  permanent.  This  is  the 
natural  and  obvious  sense  of  the  words  employed ;  and  there  is 
no  reason  why  we  should  understand  them  differently,  or  seek 
for  some  other  remote  and  occult  meaning.  Professor  Stuart  has 
justly  said  that  "it  is  one  of  the  plainest  and  most  cogent  of 
all  the  rules  of  hermeneutics,  that  every  passage  of  Scripture, 
or  of  any  other  book,  is  to  be  interpreted  as  bearing  its  plain 
and  primary  and  literal  sense,  unless  good  reason  can  be  given 
why  it  should  be  tropically  understood/'  Vitringa  gives  it  as 
"an  unerring  canon,  and  of  great  use,"  that  "we  must  never 
depart  from  the  literal  meaning  of  the  subject  mentioned  in 
its  own  appropriate  name,  if  its  principal  attributes  square  with 
the  subject  of  the  prophecy."  Ernesti  says,  "  Theologians 
are  right  when  they  affirm  the  literal  sense  to  be  the  only  true 
one."  And  Hooker  declares,  "I  hold  it  for  a  most  infallible 
rule  in  expositions  of  sacred  Scripture,  that  when  a  literal  con- 
struction will  stand,  the  farthest  from  the  letter  is  commonly 
the  worst."  "What  then  are  we  to  do  with  the  prophecies  to 
which  I  have  referred?  The  literal  meaning  is  evident. 
There  is  not  only  no  necessity  for  departing  from  it,  but  we 
cannot  depart  from  it  without  violence  and  inconsistency.  I 
therefore  claim  it  as  a  fact,  that  the  Old  Testament  writers 
have  predicted  Christ  as  a  great  prince  who  is  literally  to  reign 
upon  the  throne  of  David  in  visible  empire  over  all  the  world. 


OPINIONS  OF  CHRIST'S  CONTEMPORARIES.          117 

II.  It  is  also  true,  in  the  second  place,  that  when  the  Savior 
came  into  the  world,  as  the  Son  of  Mary,  he  was  expected  as 
a  great  prince  who  should  set  up  a  literal  empire  in  this  world. 
This  is  a  point  so  notorious,  and  so  much  dwelt  upon  by  theo- 
logians and  preachers,  that  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  do  more 
than  state  it. 

Knapp  says,  "At  the  time  of  Christ,  and  previously,  the 
current  opinion  of  the  people  in  Palestine,  and  indeed  of  most 
of  the  Pharisees  and  lawyers,  was,  that  he  would  be  a  temporal 
deliverer  and  a  King  of  the  Jews,  and  indeed  a  universal 
monarch,  who  would  reign  over  all  nations.  The  apostles  them- 
selves field  this  opinion." 

Neander  says,  "  The  Jews  expected  a  Messiah  who  should 
be  armed  with  miraculous  power  in  their  behalf,  free  them 
from  civil  bondage,  execute  a  severe  retribution  upon  the  ene- 
mies of  the  theocratic  people,  and  make  them  masters  of  the 
world  in  a  universal  empire,  whose  glory  it  was  their  special 
delight  to  set  forth." 

Schaf  says,  "  The  Jews  conceived  of  the  Messianic  kingdom 
as  a  glorious  restoration  of  the  throne  of  David." 

Brooks  says,  "It  is  quite  notorious  that  the  Jews  did,  in 
the  time  of  our  Savior,  look  for  a  King  who  should,  in  an 
illustrious  and  glorious  manner,  inherit  the  throne  of  David, 
reign  over  Israel,  and  obtain  dominion  and  possession  over  all 
nations." 

And  so  uniform  is  the  testimony  on  this  point,  that  it  is 
unnecessary  to  argue  it.  When  Herod  inquired  of  the  chief 
priests  and  scribes  where  Christ  should  be  born,  "they  said 
unto  him,  In  Bethlehem  of  Judea;  for  thus  it  is  written  by 
the  prophet,  And  thou  Bethlehem,  in  the  land  of  Juda,  art 
not  the  least  among  the  princes  of  Juda:  for  out  of  thee 
shall  come  A  GOVERNOR  that  shall  rule  my  people  Israel." 
This  shows  how  the  Jews  understood  the  ancient  prophets,  and 
what  were  their  expectations  at  the  time.  Herod  certainly 


1  IS  Til  10    LAST    TlMF,s\ 

acted  under  (lie  apprehension  that  tin-  coming  <  'Iirist  was  to  lu- 
ll great  prince,  when  In-  gave  orders  "and  slew  all  I  lie  children 
that  were  in  Uethlehem,  and  in  all  the  coasts  thereol'."  Why 
adopt  measures  (o  slay  the  infant  Savior  if  he  did  not  fear  (hat 
Christ  would  again  restore  (lie  Jewish  throne':'  \a\,  we  read 
that  even  from  tar  beyond  the  limits  of  Palestine,  certain 
"wise  men  eame,  saying,  Where  is  he  that  is  born  Kiinj  <>/  tin' 
«/(•«'.>.•;'"  It  would  seem  that  whithersoever  :i  knowledge  of  the 
Hebrew  prophecies  had  gone,  it  was  uniformly  expected  that, 
(he  promised  Messiah  would  be  a  sublime  and  triumphant, 
Jewish  kin;;-,  whose  dominion  would  absorb  all  other  king- 
doms, ami  stand  forever. 

That  extravagant  and  unfounded  notions  wen1  entertained 
by  many,  I  have  no  doubt.  Some  looked  for  Christ  only  as  a, 
military  hero,  and  eonecived  of  his  reign  too  much  after  tlio 
stylo  of  ambitious  tyranny.  They,  sometimes  spoke  of  him 
only  as  a.  conquering  leader,  whereas  he  is  at  the  same  time  a, 
divine  spiritual  Savior.  They  surrounded  him  too  much  with 
their  own  carnal  ami  resentful  feelings,  and  overlooked  that 
meekness  and  holiness  of  spirit  which  is  indispensable  to  a 
blissful  participation  in  his  princely  ministrations.  They 
tailed  to  apprehend  that  great  foundation-fact,  that  he  was 
first  to  sutler  ere  he  should  reign,  and  bear  (lie  eross  before 
reaching  the  crown.  Hut,  with  all  their  narrow  bigotries  and 
carnal  hopes,  they  did  not  misconceive  this  one  prominent 
feature  of  the  matter,  that  the  promised  Messiah  was  to  be  a 
great  prince,  who  should  reign  upon  the  throne  of  J)avid  his 
father,  and  extend  his  royal  dominion  over  all  the  earth.  So 
the  prophets  had  spoken,  and  so  they  understood  what  the 
prophets  said. 

III.  I  proceed,  then,  to  a  third  remark,  \ {•/..:  that  the  New 
Testament  nowhere  contradicts  what  was  thus  expeetcd  of  the 
Messiah.  There  are,  indeed,  :i  few  passages  which  seem  to 
conflict  with  these  expectatio  is;  but  when  attentively  consi- 


SPIRITUALITY   OF   CHRIKTIAMTT.  110 

derc-d,  and  their  real  meaning  ascertained,  they  will  be  found 
entirely  accordant  with  the  doctrine  which  I  am  endeavoring 

<;t  forth. 

That  Christianity  is  an  eminently  spiritual  religion,  all  who 
understand  it  must  admit.     The  fundamental  principle  of  the 
-  kingdom   is  his  reign  over  the  heart,  bringing  all 
its  affections  and  impulses  into  subjection  to  the  will  of  God. 
Thi-  rrn  on  which  every  thing  else  depends.    He  who 

is  not  spiritually  renewed,  and  morally  assimilated  to  Christ, 
has  neither  part  nor  lot  in  Christ's  kingdom,  whatever  may 
be  his  birth,  blood,  or  external  relations.  "  However  different 
the  extent  and  outward  form  of  the  kingdom,"  says  a  distin- 
guished author,  "however  great  its  ultimate  triumph  and  glo- 
ries, this  is  "till  its  peculiar  feature  and  character, — God,  the 
Savior,  reigning  supreme  in  the  heart  of  the  once-alienated 
and  rebellious  sinner,  and  all  dispensations  are  but  ^*f*f"'*g 
on  this  great  result  the  more  fully  over  all  the  earth." 
would  ignore  the  most  glorious  aad  most  distia|^isa>(i  featare 
of  Christianity,  if  we  v  to  think  differently. 

It  is  therefore  to  be  presumed  that  the  Savior  aad  kit  iatptrcd 
servants  should  set  fort:.  rat  with  marked  perspicuity. 

And  we  would  especially  expect  them  to  express  themselves 
strongly  on  this  feature  of  the  kingdom,  as  there  were  many 
of  their  hearers  who  had  quite  lost  sight  of  it.  It  was  the 
most  serious  mistake  of  the  Jews,  not  that  they  expected 
Christ  as  a  triumphing  Lord,  but  that  they  did  not  compre- 
hend how  he  was  at  the  sane  tine  to  he  a  spiritual  Redeemer, 
and  that  the  blessings  of  his  glorious  reign  were  to  extend 
only  to  those  who  should  be  inwardly  subjected  to  his  holy 
will.  They  thought  their  lineal  descent  from  Abraham,  aad 

-  heartless  submission  to  the  Mosaic  ritual,  ptgatated  all 
that  was  needful  to  secure  for  them  the  full  benefit  of  the 
sublime  achievements  of  their  expected  King.  This  was  * 
disease  needing  to  be  cauterized.  Hence,  whe»  the  Pharisee* 


120  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

asked  Jesus  "when  the  kingdom  of  God  should  come,"  he  at 
once  struck  at  the  root  of  their  false  hopes,  and  called  them 
back  from  their  dreams  of  glory  to  those  first  rudiments  with- 
out which  neither  Jew  nor  Gentile  shall  ever  see  the  kingdom 
of  God.  "  He  answered  and  said,  The  kingdom  of  God  cometh 
not  with  observation."  That  is,  the  essence  of  the  Messianic 
reign  does  not  lie  in  the  pomp,  show  and  outward  demonstra- 
tions of  power  for  which  they  were  looking.  "  Neither  shall 
they  say,  Lo  here !  or,  Lo  there  !"  as  if  it  were  to  be  set  up 
with  mere  physical  victories.  "The  kingdom  of  God  is  within 
you."  Its  seat  is  in  the  heart;  and  unless  first  found  in  the 
heart  it  will  never  be  found  at  all.  This  is  what  they  had 
overlooked ;  and  this  is  all  this  passage  teaches.  It  is  to  the 
same  point  that  Paul  speaks,  when  he  says,  "  The  kingdom  of 
God  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteousness,  peace  and  joy 
in  the  Holy  Ghost."  The  antithesis  which  he  presents  is 
not  between  a  visible  personal  reign  of  Christ,  and  a  mere 
reign  by  his  Spirit  and  grace,  but  between  the  true  prerequi- 
site spiritual  submission  to  Christ,  and  that  mere  ceremonial 
righteousness  upon  which  the  Jews  so  much  boasted  and 
relied.  But  the  fact  that  a  man's  heart  must  be  renewed  and 
purified  as  a  condition  of  participation  in  the  blessings  of  the 
mediatorial  kingdom,  by  no  means  proves  that  that  kingdom 
is  not  hereafter  to  take  form,  and  be  outwardly  manifested  in 
a  triumphant  personal  reign  of  the  Savior  in  this  world.  For 
if  we  interpret  these  words  so  as  to  confine  the  divine  king- 
dom to  the  heart,  and  to  righteousness,  peace  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,  we  necessarily  exclude  from  it  the  outward 
church,  the  sacraments,  and  a  future  home  in  heaven.  And 
yet,  if  we  dare  extend  the  limits  of  the  divine  kingdom  be- 
yond the  mere  inward  experiences  of  the  soul,  there  is  nothing 
to  prevent  us  from  extending  it  so  as  to  embrace  also  the 
future  personal  reign  of  the  Messiah  upon  earth.  For  if  the 
present  existence  of  the  kingdom  in  men's  hearts  is  recon- 


AN    OFT-MISQUOTED   PASSAGE    EXPLAINED.  121 

cilablc  with  the  hope  of  a  more  glorious  form  of  the  kingdom 
in  the  heavenly  world,  it  is  equally  reconcilable,  and  on  the 
same  grounds,  with  the  doctrine  of  the  future  princely  reign 
of  Christ  over  the  nations. 

Another  passage  often  misquoted  upon  this  subject  is  that 
where  Christ  says,  "J/y  kingdom  is  not  (EX)  FROM  this  world." 
When  he  uttered  these  words,  he  was  on  his  trial  before 
Pilate.  He  had  been  accused  of  treasonable  purposes.  Pilate, 
therefore,  asked  him  whether  he  was  a  king.  He  boldly 
affirmed  that  he  was  a  king.  But  to  quiet  their  apprehen- 
sions that  he  was  about  to  undertake  to  subvert  the  existing 
authorities  by  carnal  violence,  he  qualified  his  avowal;  and 
these  words  contain  the  qualification.  He  does  not  say  that 
his  kingdom  is  not  to  be  located  upon  earth ;  for  it  is  located 
here.  His  church  and  all  its  ordinances  are  on  earth.  The 
children  of  the  kingdom  live  and  operate  in  this  world.  He 
only  says,  his  kingdom  is  not  from  this  world,  that  it  is  of 
heavenly  origin,  and  that  it  is  to  be  set  up  by  supernatural 
means,  and  not  by  human  prowess  or  the  might  of  earthly 
arms.  That  this  is  what  he  means,  and  all  that  he  means,  is 
evident  from  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  is  made 
abundantly  clear  from  the  additional  words  : — "Else  would  my 
servants  jight,  that  I  should  not  be  delivered  to  the  Jews." 
Why  did  he  not  allow  his  servants  to  fight?  Because  his 
kingdom  was  not  to  be  built  up  in  that  style.  He  is  to  enter 
upon  his  throne  by  a  different  process.  He  is  to  receive  his 
dominion  from  above,  and  not  from  beneath.  The  Lord  will 
give  it  to  him.  It  will  not  come  out  of  this  world. 

I  may  therefore  say,  with  perfect  safety,  that  there  is  nothing 
in  the  New  Testament  to  contradict  the  cherished  expecta- 
tions, that  the  Messiah  is  to  reign  as  a  great  prince  on  David's 
throne  in  this  world. 

IV.  Nay,  I  go  further,  and  say,  that  there  is  much  in  the 
New  Testament  tending  directly  to  confirm  and  deepen  these 

11 


122  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

prevailing  expectations.  Look  for  a  moment  at  what  the 
angel  said  to  Mary,  when  he  came  to  announce  to  her  the 
birth  of  the  expected  Christ.  Gabriel  there  says  to  the  Vir- 
gin, "  Thou  shalt  conceive  in  thy  womb,  and  bring  forth  a  son, 
and  shalt  call  his  name  JESUS  ;  he  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be 
called  the  Son  of  the  Highest."  These  are  plain  words.  All 
understand  them  just  as  they  stand.  And  what  follows  is 
equally  plain,  and  by  all  sound  principles  of  interpretation 
must  be  taken  as  equally  literal : — "And  the  Lord  shall  give 

him  the  THRONE  OF  HIS  FATHER  DAVID.  AND  HE  SHALL 
REIGN  OVER  THE  HOUSE  OF  JACOB  FOREVER;  and  of  his 
kingdom  there  shall  lie  no  end."  Now,  what  effect  could  such 
an  announcement  have  upon  those  who  were  looking  for  the 
Christ  as  a  great  reigning  prince,  but  to  establish  and  fix  all 
their  prepossessions  concerning  him  in  that  respect?  And 
when  his  virgin  mother  first  brought  him  as  a  babe  to  the 
temple,  Simeon  and  Anna,  by  direct  divine  inspiration,  spoke 
of  him  as  the  consolation  for  which  Israel  was  looking,  and 
as  the  one  to  accomplish  in  Jerusalem  the  very  redemption 
which  Judah  was  expecting.  What  could  be  the  tendency  of 
such  utterances,  but  to  make  the  people  who  heard  them  still 
more  enthusiastic  in  the  hopes  they  were  cherishing  ?  "When 
Nathanael  first  recognized  the  Savior's  Messiahship,  and  ad- 
dressed him  as  "  Eabbi,  the  Son  of  God,  the  King  of  Israel," 
he  evidently  conceived  of  that  kingship  according  to  the  pre- 
vailing belief  of  the  time.  And  yet  Christ  passed  it  as  a 
proper  conception,  and  replied  to  it  in  a  way  which  could  only 
give  intensity  to  the  anticipations  that  were  entertained. 
When  the  five  thousand,  who  had  been  miraculously  fed  in 
the  wilderness,  would  have  taken  him  by  force,  and  placed 
him  on  the  throne,  he  withdrew  himself;  for  his  time  for  that 
had  not  yet  come ;  neither  was  that  the  way  in  which  he  was 
to  obtain  his  crown.  But  he  uttered  not  a  word  of  censure  to 
indicate  that  they  w'ere  wrong  in  looking  upon  him  as  he  who 


FURTHER    NEW    TESTAMKNT    KVID'/.NCE.  123 

should  hold  earthly  dominion,  and  reign  with  authority  like 
that  with  which  they  desired  to  invest  him.  When  he  made 
his  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem,  and  the  people  around 
him  shouted,  "Blessed  lie  the  King!"  "Blessed  be  the  king- 
dom of  our  father  David  which  cometh  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord!"  "Hosannali  to  the  Son  of  David!"  what  did  they 
mean  ?  Did  they  not  thereby  point  to  him  as  their  expected 
Messiah,  who  should  break  the  power  of  their  enemies,  renew 
the  Jewish  throne,  establish  an  earthly  empire,  and  reign  as  a 
mighty  prince  ?  What  else  could  they  have  meant  ?  And 
yet  Jesus  received  it  all  with  approbation,  and  never  once  so 
much  as  hinted  that  they  were  the  least  mistaken.  Nay, 
when  the  enraged  Jewish  officials  came  to  him,  angrily  com- 
plaining of  what  had  been  said  of  him  by  the  shouting  multi- 
tude, he  not  only  sided  with  the  applauding  people,  but  de- 
clared that  if  these  held  their  peace,  the  stones  themselves 
would  cry  out !  What  more  impressive  endorsement  could  he 
possibly  have  given  to  what  the  exulting  crowd  had  uttered  ? 
Did  he  not  thus  acquiesce  iu  their  views  ?  Did  he  not  thus 
most  effectually  set  his  seal  of  sanction  to  the  proclamation, 
and  emphatically  declare  himself  the  King  of  the  Jews,  who 
should  restore  and  occupy  the  throne  of  David,  and  reign  in 
Mount  Zion  according  to  the  letter  of  prophecy?  And  so 
again,  when  the  mother  of  Zebedee's  children  asked  him  that 
her  two  sons  might  sit,  as  ministers  of  state,  the  one  on  his 
right  hand  and  the  other  on  his  left  in  his  kingdom,  she 
doubtless  conceived  of  that  kingdom  as  a  princely  reign  in 
this  world.  Her  request  is  amply  indicative  of  this.  But,  if 
she  was  wrong,  the  Savior's  answer  certainly  went  much  fur- 
ther to  confirm  her  views  than  to  undeceive  her.  True,  he 
did  not  agree  to  grant  her  desire ;  but  he  left  her  under  the 
belief  that  there  are  such  places  to  be  filled  in  his  empire,  and 
that  they  are  reserved  for  those  for  whom  the  Father  has  pre- 
pared them.  Arc  we  to  suppose  the  holy  Jesus  capable  of 


124  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

encouraging  delusion  ?  He  knew  what  sort  of  views  that 
woman  had  of  his  kingdom ;  and  if  it  were  not  in  his  pur- 
pose to  establish  that  kingdom  as  she  apprehended  that  he 
would,  his  conduct  and  answer  are  quite  inexplicable.  The 
prayer  of  the  penitent  thief  on  the  cross  presents  a  similar 
case.  That  heart-broken  sufferer  besought  the  Savior  to  re- 
member him  when  he  came  in  his  kingdom.  His  ideas  of 
that  kingdom  were  doubtless,  in  the  main  at  least,  just  what 
were  generally  entertained.  And  the  Savior  answered  him 
without  intimating  that  he  was  at  all  mistaken,  and  left  him 
to  die  under  the  impression  with  which  he  uttered  the  prayer. 
See,  also,  with  what  firmness  the  Savior  expressed  himself 
when  before  Pilate.  He  was  there  charged  with  conspiracy 
and  treason.  The  question  of  Pilate  was  addressed  directly 
to  his  political  pretensions.  His  accusers  were  standing  by, 
eagerly  watching  for  the  smallest  intimations  on  which  they 
might  secure  his  condemnation.  But  his  great  spirit  did 
not  quail.  Rising  up  in  the  sublime  dignity  which  belonged 
to  his  high  nature,  he  boldly  affirmed  his  claim  to  royal  ap- 
pointment and  power.  And  then,  at  the  last,  having  spent 
forty  days  with  his  disciples  after  his  resurrection  from  the 
dead,  "speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  how  impressive  is  the  sanction  which  he  gave  to  the 
fond  expectations  concerning  his  earthly  princedom !  Cer- 
tainly, all  these  special  instructions  to  his  disciples  upon  this 
particular  subject  left  them  no  room  for  any  further  misunder- 
standing. And  yet,  at  the  last  hour  of  his  stay  on  earth,  we 
find  them  still  identifying  the  Messiah's  reign  with  the  resto- 
ration of  the  Jewish  throne,  and  Christ  himself  still  replying 
to  them  in  a  way  which  could  only  deepen  and  strengthen 
their  ideas  of  the  matter.  If  there  were  nothing  else  upon 
the  subject  in  the  New  Testament  but  this  account  of  Christ's 
last  interview  with  his  disciples,  it  would  be  enough  upon 
which  to  base  the  belief,  that  it  is  his  purpose,  at  the  ap- 


CHRIST'S  OWN  DECLARATIONS.  125 

pointed  time,  to  revive  the  throne  of  David,  and  to  reign  per- 
sonally upon  earth.  They  expected  him  to  "  restore  the  king- 
dom to  Israel,"  and  wished  to  know  the  time ;  and  all  he  said, 
and  the  last  he  said,  was,  that  they  were  not  "  to  know  the 
time." 

There  is  also  another  class  of  New  Testament  passages, 
equally,  if  not  still  more  strongly,  corroborative  of  the  com- 
mon expectations  of  the  Messianic  reign.  When  the  dis- 
ciples asked  the  Savior  what  they  should  have  in  return  for 
their  sacrifices  in  his  cause,  he  replied,  "  When  the  Son  of 
man  shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  upon 
twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."  "I  ap- 
point unto  you  a  kingdom,  as  my  Father  hath  appointed  unto 
m<',  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  niy  table  in  my  kingdom, 
and  sit  on  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel." 
"Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  until  the 

times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled When  ye  see  these 

things  come  to  pass,  know  ye  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  nigh 
at  hand.  Verily,  this  ysvzd — this  Jewish  race — shall  not  pass 
away — not  cease  from  being  a  distinct  people — TILL  ALL  BE 
FULFILLED."  He  here  appropriates  to  himself  a  future  king- 
dom. He  says  that  it  is  to  be  set  up  at  the  expiration  of  the 
Gentile  dorninancy,  and  while  the  Jews  still  continue  as  a 
distinct  race.  He  says  that  the  apostles  are  to  share  in  the 
administrations  of  that  kingdom,  as  judges  of  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel.  And  what  effect  would  such  declarations  pro- 
duce upon  the  minds  of  men  who  contemplated  the  Messiah's 
reign  as  a  literal  kingdom  upon  earth  ?  What  language  could 
have  been  framed  that  would  more  certainly  have  been  inter- 
preted in  favor  of  their  views  ?  May  we  not  then  set  it  down 
as  settled  and  clear,  that  the  New  Testament,  so  far  from  con- 
tradicting the  literal  statements  of  the  old,  or  the  expectations 
founded  thereon,  speaks  in  the  same  strain,  and  fans  those 
anticipations  into  greater  brightness  and  intensity? 

11* 


126  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

V.  But  again  I  remark,  that  the  Scriptures  explicitly  speak 
of  the  setting  up  of  a  kingdom  in  connection  with  the  Savior's 
final  advent,  which  answers  exactly  to  the  literal  predictions 
of  the  ancient  prophets  which  I  have  quoted,  and  to  the  ex- 
pectations of  the  Jews  and  his  first  disciples.  Upon  this 
point  the  text  itself  is  conclusive.  All  agree  that  it  refers  to 
the  Savior's  coming  in  glory  to  judge  the  world, — to  his  per- 
sonal coming  at  the  end  of  the  present  dispensation.  And  it 
is  here  affirmed,  with  an  explicitness  which  cannot  be  evaded, 
that  at  the  period  of  his  coming  there  is  to  be  "given  him 
dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  NATIONS 
and  languages  SHOULD  SERVE  HIM  :  his  dominion  is  an  ever- 
lasting dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  king- 
dom that  -which  shall  not  be  destroyed."  And  that  there 
might  be  no  misunderstanding  or  mistake  about  the  matter, 
an  angel  explains  the  vision,  and  says  that  the  blasphemous 
and  persecuting  power  denoted  by  the  little  horn  is  to  prevail 
against  the  saints  until  "  the  judgment  shall  sit,"  and  THEN 
"  the  kingdom,  and  dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  the  king- 
dom UNDER  THE  WHOLE  HEAVEN,  shall  be  given  to  the  people 
of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an  ever- 
lasting kingdom,  and  ALL  DOMINIONS  SHALL  SERVE  AND 
OBEY  HIM."  These  words  describe  a  literal  kingdom,  a  uni- 
versal kingdom,  a  kingdom  under  the  heavens,  over  the  na- 
tions and  tribes  of  this  world,  and  which  is  only  to  be  set  up 
at  the  session  of  the  judgment,  and  the  coming  of  the  Son 
of  man  in  the  clouds. 

Look  also  at  the  vision  of  the  great  golden-headed  image,  and 
the  stone  cut  from  the  mountains  without  hands,  which  smote 
the  great  image,  broke  it  and  filled  all  the  earth.  We  have  there 
an  epitome  of  this  world's  history :  first,  the  four  great  mon- 
archies beginning  with  Babylon,  and  extending  down  to  the 
sovereignties  which  now  occupy  the  territory  of  the  western 
Roman  empire;  second,  the  utter  extinction  of  these  monster 


VISION    OP    THE    IMAGE    AND    THE    STONE.  127 

powers  during  the  regency  of  the  ten  kingdoms  into  which 
the  Roman  empire  was  ultimately  divided;  and  third,  the 
setting  up  in  their  place  of  a  divine,  universal  and  eternal 
empire,  symbolized  by  the  stone  from  the  mountains.  Daniel 
thus  interprets  the  vision  : — "In  the  days  of  these  Icings" 
— that  is,  in  the  days  of  the  kingdoms  denoted  by  the  ten 
toes  of  the  great  image,  during  the  existence  of  the  Roman 
empire  in  its  last  form  of  ten  kindred  regencies — "shall  the 
God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  which  shall  never  be  de- 
stroyed :  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people, 
but  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms, 
and  it  shall  stand  forever."  Some  have  supposed  that  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  is  here  meant ;  but  Dr.  Berg  has 
justly  remarked  that  "  this  view  is  not  tenable."  When 
Christianity  was  introduced,  the  Roman  empire  was  yet  one. 
It  was  not  divided  into  its  ultimate  ten  parts  for  hundreds  of 
years  afterwards.  Besides,  Christianity  is  not  a  kingdom  in 
the  sense  in  which  the  prophet  is  here  using  that  word.  This 
kingdom  denoted  by  the  mystic  stone,  which  God  is  to  set  up, 
and  which  is  to  stand  forever,  is  so  related  to  the  other  king- 
doms mentioned  that  we  must  necessarily  assign  to  it  some- 
thing of  a  similar  nature.  Tillinghast  says,  "  In  respect  of 
nature,  it  is  the  same  with  the  kingdoms  represented  by  the 
great  image;  i.  e.  it,  is  outward  as  they  are  outward;  which 
appears:  (1.)  From  the  general  scope  and  drift  of  the  pro- 
phecy, which  runs  upon  outward  kingdoms.  All  the  first 
four  kingdoms,  or  monarchies,  are  outward,  as  none  can  deny; 
why  then  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  speaking  of  the  fifth  and  last, 
should  so  far  vary  the  scope  as  to  glide  from  the  outward  king- 
dom to  the  inward,  ought,  besides  the  bare  say-so,  to  have 
some  solid  and  substantial  reason  brought  for  it  by  those, 
whosoever  they  are,  that  either  do  or  shall  assert  it.  (2.)  Be- 
cause it  is  not  proper  to  say  that  a  bare  spiritual  kingdom, 
considered  only  as  spiritual,  should  break  in  pieces,  beat  to 


128  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

very  chaff,  grind  to  powder,  the  great  image,  i.  e.  destroy  the 
very  being  of  worldly  kingdoms,  which  work  is  yet,  notwith- 
standing, done  by  this  stone.  Indeed,  Christ's  spiritual  king- 
dom may,  by  that  light  and  life  which  it  gives  forth,  much 
refine  and  reform  outward  kingdoms ;  but  when  once  the  work 
conies  to  breaking,  and  breaking  in  pieces,  i.  e.  subverting 
kingdoms,  razing  their  very  foundations  and  destroying  their 
very  being,  as  they  the  kings  of  this  world  are  here,  unless 
we  conceive  God  to  do  it  by  a  miracle,  must  we  also  conceive 
some  other  hand  besides  a  spiritual  put  to  the  work.  (3.)  Be- 
cause the  stone,  to  the  end  there  might  not  be  a  vacancy  in 
the  world,  comes  straightway  in  the  place  and  room  of  the 
great  image,  so  soon  as  the  same  is  totally  broken.  For  as 
the  great  image,  while  standing,  bears  rule  over  all  the  earth, 
so  the  same  being  broken,  the  stone  becomes  a  mountain  and 
fills  the  whole  earth,  therefore  must  the  kingdom  of  the  stone 
be  such  a  kingdom  as  was  that  of  the  great  image,  viz. :  OUT- 
WARD ;  or  otherwise,  the  coming  of  that,  in  the  place  of  the 
other  now  taken  away,  could  not  supply  the  want  of  the 
other." 

This  quotation  is  long,  involved  and  robed  in  the  quaint- 
ness  of  two  centuries  ago,  but  it  is  perfectly  conclusive  upon 
the  point  that  the  stone-kingdom  which  God  is  to  set  up,  and 
which  is  to  consume  and  destroy  all  other  kingdoms  and  stand 
forever,  is  a  literal,  real,  outward,  terrestrial  empire.  The 
time  when  that  kingdom  is  to  be  set  up  is  the  time  when  the 
last  forms  of  usurped  dominion,  denoted  by  the  ten  toes  of  the 
great  image,  are  to  be  broken  in  pieces.  The  ten  toes  of  that 
image  are  acknowledged  on  all  hands  to  be  the  same  as  the 
ten-horned  wild  beast  of  John.  The  ten-horned  wild  beast  is 
only  to  be  taken  and  destro}red  when  the  heavens  shall  open 
and  the  Son  of  God  come  forth  to  tread  the  winepress  of  God's 
wrath,  and  give  judgment  to  the  martyrs  and  saints.  There- 
fore the  coming  of  Christ  is  to  be  attended  with  the  setting 


FURTHER    TESTIMONY.  129 

iip  of  a  visible,  outward,  universal,  divine  and  eternal  empire, 
such  as  the  Jews  associated  with  the  Messianic  reign. 

The  Savior  himself  has  spoken  of  the  matter  to  the  same 
effect.  Hear  his  words  : — "  WHEN  the  Son  of  man  SHALL 
COME  IN  HIS  GLORY,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  THEN 

SHALL  HE  SIT  UPON  THE  THRONE  OF  HIS  GLORY  ;  and  before 
him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations ;  and  he  shall  separate 
THEM  (THE  NATIONS)  one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  di- 
videth  his  sheep  from  the  goats;  and  he  shall  set  the  sheep 
on  his  right  hand,  but  the  goats  on  the  left.  THEN  shall  THE 
KING  say  to  them  on  7iis  right  hand,  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  INHERIT  THE  KINGDOM  prepared  for  you  from  the 
foundation  of  the  icorld."  In  the  same  strain  he  elsewhere 
says,  "They  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  a  cloud,  with 
power  and  great  glory.  .  .  .  WHEN  ye  see  these  things  come 
to  2>ass,  know  ye  that  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD  is  NIGH  AT 
HAND."  Paul  also  says  to  Timothy,  "I  charge  thee  there- 
fore before  God,  even  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  judge 
the  quick  and  dead  AT  HIS  APPEARING  AND  KINGDOM."  All 
these  passages  unequivocally  connect  the  setting  up  of  tho 
glorious  Messianic  kingdom  with  the  Savior's  final  coming. 

Elsewhere  Paul  connects  the  final  advent  with  the  sounding 
of  "the  last  trump;"  and  when  we  turn  to  John's  vision  of 
what  attends  the  sounding  of  the  seventh  or  last  trumpet,  we 
read,  "  There  were  great  voices  in  heaven,  saying,  THE  KING- 
DOMS OF  THE  WORLD  ARE  BECOME  THE  KINGDOMS  OF  OUR 

LORD  AND  OF  HIS  CHRIST;  AND  HE  SHALL  REIGN  FOREVER 
AND  EVER  !"  And  that  there  might  be  no  misapprehension 
of  the  time  to  which  this  vision  relates,  the  four-and-twenty 
elders  respond  with  thanksgiving  that  it  is  "  the  time  of  the 
dead  that  they  should  be  judged," — the  time  of  giving  reward 
to  the  servants  of  God,  the  prophets,  saints  and  all  that  fear 
him, — the  time  that  Christ  shall  "  destroy  them  that  corrupt 
the  earth:"  (Ilev.  xi.  15-18.) 


130  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

Paul  also  connects  the  resurrection  of  the  saints  with 
Christ's  final  coming  : — "  The  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from 
heaven,  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first."  In  this  he 
agrees  exactly  with  John's  vision  of  "  the  first  resurrection." 
But  in  that  vision  John  saw  thrones,  and  the  martyrs,  the 
blessed  and  holy,  seated  on  them ;  and  they  were  made  kings 
and  priests  of  Grod,  "and  they  liced  and  reigned  with  Christ 
a  thousand  years." 

In  all  these  passages  we  have  a  literal,  universal  and  abiding 
kingdom  ascribed  to  Christ  in  connection  with  his  second 
coming.  It  is  not  a  kingdom  far  off  in  the  remoteness  of 
unknown  space,  but  here  in  this  world.  It  is  to  be  "  under 
heaven."  It  is  to  embrace  "the  kingdoms  of  the  world." 
Its  subjects  are  to  be  "people,  nations  and  languages."  To 
take  possession  of  it,  Christ  is  said  to  "  descend  from  heaven," 
"  come,"  "  appear,"  and  stand  again  upon  the  earth.  It  is 
then  of  necessity  just  such  a  kingdom  as  the  prophets  fore- 
told, and  as  the  Jews  and  apostles  expected.  It  is  to  be  out- 
ward, literal,  universal,  glorious  and  eternal.  It  is  not  "from 
or  out  of  this  world"  just  as  John's  baptism  was  not  "from 
or  out  of  this  world."  It  conies  from  God.  It  originates 
from  above,  not  from  beneath.  It  is  not  set  up  by  earthly 
means,  but  by  divine  power.  But  as  John  baptized  on  earth, 
although  his  baptism  was  not  "  from  this  world,"  and  as  the 
church  is  located  on  earth,  although  not  of  the  earth,  so 
Christ  will  reign  in  this  world  in  the  sublimities  of  visible 
empire.  We  never  read  of  his  return  to  heaven  after  he 
once  comes  to  this  world  a  second  time.  He  remains  here. 
His  tabernacle  is  then  to  be  "  with  men,  and  he  will  DWELL 
among  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God  himself 
shall  be  with  them." 

This  reign  of  Christ,  then,  is  also  to  be  a  personal  reign. 
He  was  "made  in  the  likeness  of  men."  He  must  there- 
fore have  a  local  dwelling-place.  As  the  Son  of  man  he  is 


1    1 

no  v  ia  keaTea.     Aad  wfce»  it  is  sail  tfei  be  v9 

to  earti.  and  </*•*#  rid  »»*.  ve  TCI 

wIH  be  his  home.     He  cani*:*  <hrefl  aad  reuni  00  eartk  as  tie 

-  i  :  :  -.-: :.-:--;--  __:  -  —  -  --  -_  -:__  ,.-_. 
L-  7  :  :_-.  I-.  .-  -_.  -  :i   -       :- » :  -  i  --  i  -i  - 


:-  --'--  -:  -- 

of  tie  ff.l 

ft 

Wfcea  Ciist  was  OK  ortk,  IwA  Jews  a«i  Ckrirtaw  ktt  iL 

manv  places  refer?  to  it 

I  in  the  «Xd  Testameat  and  Ae 

it  as  a  true  icetriae  cf  G->L     We 

~ ji      '   n     z_~i   z.  *^^r  ~ -L 

. 

x?'?rivas  visitZe  priae*.  wic-m  al!  the 

"  _  .    ~     ~.  1     .". _i      "^       1.        S--C  -1---    t^  : 

it:  the  whole  creataoa  ^itmmi  and  lonzs  for  is  :  aa-I  I 

workTs  •«&  it  is  the  dearest  of  afl  tbe  11  nrihaiili  of  God. 
• '  JB  hoar,  the  grate*  ill  iiniiM  «f  «ET  nae  B  good 

^    ~  !  r""_Jl_  •    _  ~ . _2"    ~     TT. 1 "  ~  7"    *:  1  ~T*    I ~  Jl 


132  THE   LAST    TIMES. 

prophesying  for  ages,  for  a  divine  Deliverer,  and  the  age  of 
gold  which  his  administrations  are  to  bring  with  them.  And 
yet  he  has  not  come.  I  do  not,  indeed,  deny  that  Christ  now 
reigns  in  the  hearts  of  his  children,  or  that  he  exercises  a 
providential  control  over  the  affairs  of  the  world.  I  know  and 
rejoice  that  there  is  a  sense  in  which  he  is  present  now,  even 
where  but  two  or  three  are  assembled  in  his  name;  and  that 
wherever  a  sinner  turns  to  God,  there  something  of  his  regal 
authority  and  power  are  felt.  But  I  also  know,  that,  with  all 
his  spiritual  and  providential  presence  and  rule,  as  now  in  the 
world,  every  thing  is  imperfect  as  compared  with  the  promises 
of  what  is  to  be  hereafter.  Satan,  for  the  most  part,  is  yet 
the  king  and  master  of  this  world,  and  not  the  illustrious  Son 
of  David.  Every  thing  in  church  and  state,  public  and  pri- 
vate, is  more  or  less  disjointed,  weak,  sickly,  and  failing  of 
what  we  most  desire.  Kemedies  only  multiply  wants  and  de- 
fects. "That which  is  crooked  cannot  be  made  straight;  and 
that  which  is  wanting  cannot  be  numbered."  The  best- 
planned  institutions  and  the  wisest  laws  are  constantly  dis- 
appointing us.  The  holy  law  itself  was  "weak  through  the 
flesh;"  and  the  same  is  to  be  said  of  all  that  we  now  have. 
No  one  adequately  fulfills  or  can  fulfill  his  relations.  The  con- 
sciences even  of  the  best  Christians,  if  properly  enlightened, 
continually  reproach  them.  Every  thing  seems  to  feel  the 
absence  of  its  redeeming  Lord.  He  does  not  yet  reign  as  it  is 
necessary  for  us  that  he  should  reign.  "  We  see  not  yet  all 
things  put  under  Mm."  Matters  now  are  only  in  a  stage  pre- 
paratory to  something  still  beyond  us.  The  throne  of  David 
is  yet  less  than  a  cipher.  The  promised  Son  has  not  yet  lifted 
it  out  of  its  degradation.  Mount  Zion  is  still  trodden  by  the 
vile  foot  of  the  destroyer.  Israel,  that  is  to  be  redeemed  and 
become  the  standard-bearer  of  ransomed  nations,  is  still  scat- 
tered over  all  the  earth.  The  enemies  of  God  still  vaunt 
themselves  over  his  Anointed.  Ignorance,  fanaticism  and 


THE   PRESENT   STATE   OF   THE  WORLD.  133 

infidelity  still  stalk  abroad,  even  through  the  church.  The 
man  of  siu,  who  opposeth  and  exaltoth  himself  above  all  that 
is  called  God,  still  sits  iu  the  temple  of  God.  Great  Babylon 
still  stands,  drunk  as  she  is  with  the  blood  of  the  saints.  The 
wild  beast  and  the  false  prophet  are  still  allied  against  the 
Lanib,  and  against  the  witnesses  of  Jesus.  Evil  men  and 
seducers  are  still  waxing  worse  and  worse.  Despotism  and 
tyranny  still  hold  the  places  which  justice  and  charity  alone 
should  fill.  War  and  bloodshed  still  devastate  and  deluge  this 
poor  fallen  world.  Rapine  and  plunder  still  press  their  foul 
trade  on  land  and  on  sea.  Ambition,  intrigue,  finesse  and  de- 
ceit still  hold  disgraceful  sway  in  the  best  parliaments  and 
legislatures  on  earth.  Scoffers  abound  everywhere,  walking 
after  their  own  lusts,  and  saying,  Where  is  the  promise  of  His 
coming?  The  wails  of  suffering  and  wretchedness  still  float 
on  every  breeze ;  and  the  cries  of  wronged  millions  still  go  up 
into  the  ear  of  Jehovah. 

Oh,  tell  me  not  that  this  is  the  glorious  reign  of  Messiah ! 
Tell  me  not  that  these  are  the  scenes  to  which  the  saints  of 
old  looked  with  so  much  joy !  I  will  not  so  disgrace  my 
Savior  or  his  word,  as  to  allow  for  a  moment  that  this  dispen- 
sation is  the  sublime  Messianic  kingdom.  No,  no,  no;  Christ 
does  not  yet  reign  in  the  kingdom  which  he  has  promised  and 
for  which  he  has  taught  us  to  pray.  Isaiah  and  Gabriel  have 
said,  that  he  should  occupy  the  throne  of  his  father  David,  and 
reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob,  and  establish  his  government 
in  eternal  peace  and  righteousness;  but  David's  sceptre  he  has 
never  held,  over  Jacob's  house  he  has  never  ruled,  and  the 
whole  world  is  yet  full  of  iniquity  and  wo.  The  Psalmist  has 
taught  us  that  "all  nations  shall  serve  him,  the  Gentiles  be  his 
inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  his  posses- 
sion;" but  there  is  not  a  nation  in  all  this  wide  world  that  is 
thoroughly  Christian,  and  not  a  people  who  unanimously 
acknowledge  that  Christ  is  Lord.  Of  the  ten  hundred  mil- 

12 


134  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

lions  of  souls  that  now  constitute  the  family  of  man,  not  two- 
fifths  are  even  professedly  Christian!  Take  from  the  most 
Christian  community — take  from  among  the  highly-favored 
inhabitants  of  our  own  city— all  who  are  not  of  the  household 
of  faith,  and  what  a  scanty  population  would  remain !  Take 
the  most  enlightened  and  cultivated  of  the  nations  :  take  Eng- 
land— take  Saxony — take  our  own  country — take  the  model 
nation  of  Christendom,  containing  the  most  churches,  and  the 
greatest  number  of  devout  people  :  examine  the  structure  of 
its  government,  test  the  operations  of  its  laws,  sift  the  char- 
acter of  its  inhabitants,  weigh  it  in  the  balances  of  Scripture 
truth  and  divine  requirements,  aggregate  its  good  and  its  evil, 
strike  the  balance  between  righteousness  and  iniquity,  and 
then  tell  me  whether  there  is  a  nation  on  all  the  globe  that 
does  not  gravitate  towards  hell  rather  than  towards  heaven  ! 
The  church  itself,  enclosing  within  its  pale  all  the  purest  and 
holiest  specimens  of  humanity,  after  the  toils  and  prayers  of 
eighteen  centuries,  is  still  a  feeble  craft,  working  against  wind 
and  tide  !  Where,  then,  is  that  universal  righteousness,  peace 
and  glory  which  gave  inspiration  to  the  songs  of  the  prophets 
and  hope  to  the  souls  of  the  dying  saints  of  old?  The  reign 
of  Messiah  is  to  be  a  reign  of  glory,  power  and  triumph, 
where  yice  is  unknown  and  iniquity  at  an  end, — where  the 
branch  from  the  root  of  Jesse  is  to  strike  all  enemies  dead 
and  the  Sun  of  righteousness  disperse  all  darkness  forever, — • 
where  all  nations  shall  serve,  worship  and  obey  the  King  of 
Israel,  and  the  earth  shout  the  alleluia  of  her  ultimate  re- 
demption; and  it  is  worse  than  useless  to  try  to  persuade 
ourselves  that  such  a  condition  of  things  belongs  to  this  dis- 
pensation. 

Nor  is  there  any  thing  by  way  of  inference  from  the  past, 
or  from  indications  of  the  present,  or  even  in  the  sublime 
promises  of  the  word  of  God,  by  which  to  assure  ourselves 
that  such  a  condition  of  things  ever  will  be  realized  until  the 


"ALL  THINGS  NEW."  185 

personal  return  of  the  blessed  Christ  for  whom  we  wait.  It  is 
only  when  lie  shall  come,  that  he  will  sit  upon  the  throne  of  his 
glory.  Antichrist  shall  not  die  till  then.  The  world  will  not 
be  fully  redeemed  till  then.  The  glorious  kingdom  will  not 
come  till  then.  That  is  the  grand  climacteric  of  our  faith ; 
that  is  the  sublime  ultimatum  of  all  our  hopes. 

Long,  long  has  this  great  consummation  been  delayed, — so 
long  that  even  pious  men  begin  to  doubt  whether  it  ever  shall 
come.  But  the  word  of  Jehovah  is  out;  he  cannot  recall  it; 
he  must  fulfill  it.  Soon  it  will  be  here.  Soon  shall  Messiah 
come  in  his  glory,  and  set  this  imprisoned  and  down-trodden 
world  at  liberty.  Soon  shall  the  Son  of  Mary  stand  upon  the 
Mount  of  Olives  and  plant  his  throne  upon  the  hill  of  Ziou. 
Soon  shall  the  glorified  saints  supplant  besotted  politicians, 
and  the  swelling  tide  of  righteousness  and  peace  overflow  the 
earth.  Soon  shall  the  new-born  nations  send  up  their  delega- 
tions to  Jerusalem  to  worship  the  King  in  his  beauty,  and  go 
forth  with  joy  in  the  blessedness  of  obedience  to  him. 

Men  may  scoff,  and  say  that  we  are  degrading  the  blessed 
Savior  to  a  level  with  earthly  monarchs,  and  surrounding  him 
with  the  miserable  trappings  of  their  foul  courts.  They  may 
ridicule  us,  and  say  that  we  are  dragging  down  the  throne  of 
Heaven's  King  to  place  it  ainid  graves,  almshouses,  hospitals, 
penitentiaries,  labor-prisons,  sickly  cities,  and  worn-out  states. 
But  they  forget  that  the  promise  is  that  Christ  shall  "  MAKE 
ALL  THINGS  NEW,"  and  banish  forever  all  these  evidences  and 
emblems  of  depravity  and  sin.  They  forget  that  death  is  to 
be  swallowed  up  of  life,  and  the  whole  sentence  of  the  world's 
curse  forever  rescinded.  They  forget  that  all  tears  are  to  be 
dried,  and  that  there  is  to  be  no  more  death,  nor  sorrow,  nor 
crying,  nor  tears,  nor  any  more  pain,  nor  any  more  sin,  within 
all  the  domain  of  Messiah's  eternal  dominion.  Oh,  that 
Christians  did  but  look  at  these  things  as  God  has  presented 
them,  and  lay  hold  of  the  promises  which  he  has  given  to 


136  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

encourage  us.  Then  would  they  go  forth  to  duty  with  greater 
earnestness  and  intenser  joy.  Then  would  they  pray,  with 
fonder  hope,  "Thy  Kingdom  come!"  and  ever  and  anon 
respond,  "AMEN,  EVEN  so  COME,  LORD  JESUS!" 

"Hail!  day  of  triumph,  long  appointed! 
Hail !  day  that  brings  the  Great  Anointed 

Ye  little  flock,  rejoice ! 
Fondly  look  forward  without  fearing; 
Redemption  dawns  with  his  appearing; 
Lift  up  your  heads  :  the  hour  is  nearing ! 
Elect,  lift  up  your  voice !" 


SIXTH  DISCOURSE. 


THE   JUDGMENT  —  SCRIPTURAL   IDEA   OF  A  JUDGE  —  THE  DAY  OF 

JUDGMENT  NOT  AN  ORDINARY  DAY  OF  TWENTY-FOUR  HOURS THE 

JUDGMENT  PROGRESSIVE CONNECTION  OF  THE  JUDGMENT  WITH  THE 

MILLENNIAL  REIGN — IS  THE  EXECUTION  OF  ADJUDICATIONS  ALREADY 

GOING  ON  ? HOW  IT  WILL  BE  INTRODUCED ADMONITIONS  TO  THE 

CARELESS 


ECCLESIASTES  xii.  14 :  For  God  shall  bring  every  work  into  judg- 
ment, with  every  secret  thing,  ichether  it  be  good  or  ichether  it  be 
evil. 

WE  now  approach  one  of  the  most  difficult  subjects  in  the 
Bible,  and  one  which,  perhaps,  is  the  least  understood,  and 
the  most  imperfectly  apprehended,  of  all  the  great  revelations 
of  God.  Poetry  and  imagination  have  undertaken  to  portray 
its  imposing  sublimity;  but  all  such  efforts  have  tended  to 
bewilder  and  deceive  rather  than  to  instruct.  The  truth  is, 
that  poets  for  theologians,  and  painters  for  commentators,  are 
about  the  poorest  guides  that  a  Christian  can  select.  There 
is  a  spirituality  and  supernatural  vastness  in  divine  things 
which  cannot  be  given  in  pictures,  and  which  no  earthly 
imagery  can  reach.  The  external  groupings  and  drapery 
with  which  fancy  deals  very  often  have  little  or  no  connection 
with  the  truths  they  are  designed  to  illustrate.  I  propose, 
therefore,  to  dispense  entirely  with  the  popular,  pictorial  and 
poetic  method  of  contemplating  the  great  theme  of  the  text, 
and  to  approach  it  more  in  the  style  in  which  the  Scriptures 
present  it. 

Long  has  the  cry,  "A  day  of  judgment !  a  day  of  judg- 

12*  137 


138  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

mcnt !"  been  heard  in  our  world.  Even  before  the  death  of 
Adam,  there  rose  up  a  prophet,  saying,  "Behold,  the  Lord 
coineth,  with  ten  thousand  of  his  saints,  to  execute  judgment 
upon  all."  Few,  indeed,  regard  the  solemn  prediction.  Many 
live  as  if  it  were  all  a  fable.  Thousands  scoff  at  it  as  an  idle 
dream.  But  the  truth  is  not  altered  by  man's  forgetfulness 
or  unbelief.  Refusing  to  think  of  the  subject  cannot  retard 
the  chariot-wheels  of  the  avenging  King  of  Zion.  He 
moves  on  steadily  to  the  accomplishment  of  his  great  designs, 
undismayed  and  unmolested  by  the  thoughtlessness,  the 
skepticism  or  the  rebellion  of  mortals.  Some  will  not  believe 
that  the  earth  revolves  on  its  axis,  or  that  it  moves  in  a  circuit 
round  the  sun;  but  that  does  not  change  the  facts,  or  stop 
the  world  in  its  revolutions.  And  whether  men  believe  it  or 
not,  judgment  will  come.  Accountability  is  woven  in  with 
our  very  being.  It  is  a  primordial  condition  of  our  nature. 
It  grows  out  of  the  necessities  of  our  very  existence.  It 
surrounds  the  child  from  its  first  consciousness.  It  lies  upon 
us  in  the  circle  of  friendship.  It  cleaves  to  us  as  citizens  of 
the  state.  And  we  certainly  cannot  rid  ourselves  of  it  as 
members  of  the  great  household  of  God's  rational  creation. 
And  where  there  is  accountability,  there  must  be  adjudication. 
Every  family,  social  circle,  church,  state,  or  empire,  must 
needs  have  its  tribunal,  in  effect  if  not  in  form,  by  which 
decisions  are  decreed  and  judgment  executed.  And  surely  it 
is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  great  Father  and  King  of  all 
has  failed  to  establish  this  indispensable  requisite  to  all 
government. 

We  also  find  in  man,  either  as  the  result  of  common  reason, 
or  an  original  implantation  in  human  nature,  a  something 
which  is  ever  reminding  us  that  we  must  encounter  righteous 
retribution  somewhere,  at  some  time  or  other.  We  bear  with 
us,  in  the  deep  recesses  of  our  souls,  a  sort  of  premonitory 
sense  of  coming  judgment.  Every  man  has  his  spiritual 


SCRIPTURAL   CONCEPTION   OF    "JUDGE."  139 

fears,  apprehensions  and  misgivings,  which  arc  most  solemnly 
prophetic.  A  good  man  feels  that  it  must  be  well  with  him 
in  the  end;  and  a  bad  man  cannot  be  at  peace  in  his  own 
heart,  or  rest  with  abiding  composure  upon  his  confidence  of 
safety.  Reason  as  we  may,  there  is  still  some  deeply-seated 
conviction  of  the  soul,  which  seems  to  be  a  part  of  itself, 
which  rises  up  to  assert  our  responsibility  with  a  power  that 
no  argument  can  resist  and  no  logic  overcome. 

AVc  may  therefore  take  it  as  a  fixed  verity,  not  only  asserted 
in  the  Scriptures,  but  abundantly  confirmed  by  the  nature  of 
things,  that  "God  shall  bring  every  work  into  judgment, 
with  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  bo  good,  or  whether  it 
be  bad." 

We  are  not,  however,  to  conceive  of  this  judgment  as  a  mere 
assize,  or  court,  sitting  only  at  a  specific  time,  for  the  hearing 
and  determination  of  causes  that  have  been  long  accumulating. 
Something  of  this  sort  is  remotely  implied  in  what  the  Scrip- 
tures say  of  the  matter;  but  such  an  assize  furnishes  a  very 
imperfect  and  inadequate  idea  of  the  great  judgment.  The 
Scriptural  conception  of  &  judge  is  not  simply  that  of  a  jurist 
on  the  bench,  but  that  of  a  ruler  or  king  reigning  in  right- 
eousness, guiding  and  blessing  his  loyal  subjects,  and  avenging 
them  of  their  enemies.  Just  call  to  mind  the  reign  of  "  the 
judyes"  in  the  time  of  Sampson,  Gideon,  Jephtha,  Eli,  Samuel, 
and  others,  who  are  said  to  have  "judged  Israel."  In  what 
did  their  office  of  judging  consist  ?  Brown,  in  his  Dictionary, 
has  evidently  given  it  correctly,  where  he  says,  "These  judges 
had  the  sole  management  of  peace  and  war,  and  decided  causes 
with  an  absolute  authority.  They  executed  tlie  laws,  reformed 
or  protected  religion,  and  punished  idolaters  and  other  male- 
factors ;  and  were  much  the  same  as  the  archons  of  Athens, 
the  dictators  of  Rome,  the  suffetcs  of  Carthage,  and  the  gov- 
ernors of  Germany,  Gaul  and  Britain  before  the  Roman 
invasion."  They  were,  then,  sovereign  princes;  and  in  that 


1-10  THE   LAST    TIMES. 

sovereignty  we  have  the  Scriptural  idea  of  a  judge.  He  is 
one  who  rules  the  people,  subdues  their  enemies,  punishes 
evil-doers  and  administers  the  affairs  of  government.  Hence, 
when  the  Hebrews  appointed  a  king  to  reign  over  them,  they 
called  him  a  judge,  and  called  his  administration  judging. 
Read  the  eighth  chapter  of  the  First  Book  of  Samuel.  You  will 
there  find  that  "all  the  elders  of  Israel"  said,  "Make  us  A. 
KING  TO  JUDGE  us ;" — "  "We  will  have  a  king  over  us,  that 
we  also  may  be  like  all  other  nations,  and  that  our  king  may 
JUDGE  us,  and  go  out  before  us  and  fight  our  battles." 
Their  conception  of  judgeship  was  that  of  kingly  rule.  Hence, 
when  the  Scriptures  speak  of  judgment,  they  very  often 
add  expressions  which  show  that  they  connect  with  it  the 
general  idea  of  government,  and  identify  it  with  sovereign 
control  and  gubernatorial  administrations.  "Let  the  nations 
be  glad,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "and  sing  for  joy;  for  thou  shalt 
iudge  the  people  righteously,  and  GOVERN  THE  NATIONS  upon 
earth."  Isaiah  says,  "  Unto  us  a  Son  is  given,  and  the  gov- 
ernment shall  be  upon  his  shoulder.  ...  Of  the  increase  of 
his  government  and  peace  there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the 
throne  of  David,  and  upon  his  kingdom,  to  order  it,  and  to 
establish  it  WITH  JUDGMENT  and  with  justice  forever." 
"Behold,  a  king  shall  reign  and  prosper,  and  shall  EXECUTE 
JUDGMENT  IN  THE  EARTH.  In  his  days  Judah  shall  be  saved, 
and  Israel  shall  dwell  safely;  and  this  is  the  name  whereby 
he  shall  be  called : — The  Lord  Our  Righteousness.  And  he 
shall  judge  among  many  people,  and  rebuke  strong  nations 
afar  off:  and  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares 
and  their  spears  into  pruning-hooks."  Jesus  says,  "Ye 
which  have  followed  me,  in  the  regeneration  when  the  Son  of 
man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  upon 
twelve  thrones,  JUDGING  (governing)  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel."  Paul  says,  "The  saints  shall  judge  the  icorld;"  and 
this  judgeship  of  the  saints  is  explained  in  the  Apocalypse, 


MEANING  OP  "DAY  OF  JUDGMENT."  141 

where  the  Saviour  says,  "  He  that  overcometh,  and  keepeth  my 
works  unto  the  end,  to  him  will  I  give  power  over  the  nations, 
and  Jie  shall  RULE  THEM."  All  these  passages  evidently 
refer  to  the  last  grand  administrations  of  God, — to  the  judy- 
ment.  And  you  will  readily  perceive  from  them  that  the 
Scriptural  idea  of  a  judge  is  one  who  exercises  sovereign  rule, 
one  who  administers  the  laws,  governs  the  people,  avenges 
them  of  their  enemies,  guides  them  in  peace  and  safety,  and 
punishes  evil-doers. 

In  a  general  sense,  then,  and  as  presenting  a  key  to  this 
whole  subject,  we  might  say  that  the  Judgment  of  God  is  the 
administration  of  the  government  of  God. 

It  is,  therefore,  also  erroneous  for  us  to  conceive  of  the 
judgment  as  limited  to  one  day  of  twelve  or  twenty-four 
hours.  We  indeed  read  of  "the  day  of  judgment,1'  and  that 
the  Lord  hath  "appointed  a  day  in  the  which  he  will  judge 
the  world."  But  the  word  "day"  is  often  used,  both  in  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  also  in  common  conversation,  to 
signify  much  larger  periods  of  time  than  the  seventh  part  of  a 
week.  In  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  it  is  used  six  times,  to 
denote  six  different  epochs  of  the  creation.  In  these  cases, 
some  take  it  to  mean  an  ordinary  day;  but  the  majority  of 
learned  men  think  that  it  means  a  thousand  years,  or  six 
thousand  years ;  and  that  the  six  days  of  the  creation  include 
six,  thirty-six,  or  even  a  much  greater  number  of  thousand 
years.  How  this  is  we  know  not ;  but  in  the  next  chapter 
we  read  of  "the  day  that  the  Lord  made  the  earth  and  the 
heavens,  and  every  plant  of  the  field."  Here  the  whole 
period  of  the  creation,  which  geologists  think  includes 
myriads  of  years,  is  called  a  day.  So  the  forty  years  of 
wandering  in  the  wilderness  is  called  "the  day  of  temp- 
tation,"— "  the  day  that  God  brought  them  up  out  of  Egypt." 
Isaiah  calls  the  whole  period  of  the  Messiah's  reign  "  his 
day"  And  Peter,  in  direct  reference  to  "the  day  of  judg- 


142  THE   LAST    TIMES. 

ment,"  exhorts  us  not  to  be  ignorant  "  that  one  day  is  with 
the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one 
clay."  I  make  these  remarks  to  show  that  nothing  can  be 
inferred  from  the  word  day,  as  applied  to  the  judgment,  by 
which  to  limit  it  to  twenty-four  hours,  or  to  any  other  brief 
period  of  time.  The  day  of  creation  means  simply  the  time 
of  the  creation.  The  day  of  Israel's  pilgrimage  is  the  time 
of  the  pilgrimage.  The  day  of  the  Messiah  is  the  time  of 
the  Messiah.  And  so  "the  day  of  judgment"  is  merely  the 
time  of  judgment,  whether  it  be  a  week  or  year,  a  hundred  or 
a  thousand  years,  or  as  many  years  as  there  are  days  in  a 
thousand  years.  Hence,  Joseph  Mede,  whom  Professor  Bush 
pronounces  "  one  of  the  profoundest  Biblical  scholars  of  the 
English  church,"  remarks,  that  "it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
the  Jews,  who  gave  to  this  time  the  name  of  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, and  from  whom  our  Savior  and  his  apostles  took  it, 
never  understood  thereby  any  thing  but  a  lime  of  many  years' 
continuance." 

The  truth  is,  that  the  Scriptures  present  the  judgment  as  a 
progressive  thing,  which  began  with  the  expulsion  of  Adam 
from  Paradise,  which  is  to  some  extent  continually  going  on, 
and  which  will  finally  reach  its  entire  consummation  in  the 
advent  and  administrations  of  the  Son  of  man,  when  an  utter 
end  shall  be  made  of  all  disorder  and  sin,  and  the  pious  of  all 
ages  enter  upon  the  full  fruition  of  the  honors  and  joys  which 
God  has  covenanted  unto  them.  Paul  calls  it  "  eternal 
judgment,"  not  only  because  its  results  shall  be  permanent, 
but  more  particularly  because  it  continues  perpetually.  God 
is  ever  and  anon  dealing  out  retributions  and  deliverances, 
which  are  the  steps  and  preludes  to  the  more  complete  and 
ever-augmenting  awards  of  eternity.  The  Bible  distinctly 
teaches  this.  Jesus  says,  "  He  that  believe th.  on  the  Son  is 
not  condemned;  but  he  that  believeth  not  is  condemned  (is 
JUDGED)  ALREADY,  because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name 


THE   JUDGMENT   PROGRESSIVE.  143 

of  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God."  All  agree  that  whenever 
a  sinner  repents  and  accepts  of  Christ  as  the  great  and  only 
Savior,  he  is  at  that  moment  justified;  but  justification  is 
altogether  a  judicial  transaction.  When  the  Savior  was  yet 
on  earth,  he  said,  "Now  is  the  judgment  of  this  world;" — 
"The  prince  of  this  world  is  judgt-d."  When  God  went 
through  Egypt,  and  smote  all  the  first-born  of  man  and  beast, 
it  is  said  that  he  executed  judgment  upon  them :  (Gen.  xv. 
14;  Ex.  xii.  12.)  The  revelation  of  his  avenging  arm 
against  proud  Babylon,  and  the  deliverance  of  Israel  from 
its  power,  is  described  in  the  same  way :  (Jer.  li.  47 ; 
Ezek.  xxxix.  21.)  And  so  every  interposition  of  God  to 
enforce  the  principles  of  his  government,  either  by  way  of 
punishing  his  enemies  or  delivering  his  people,  is  called 
judgment,  and  is  really  a  part  and  earnest  of  the  one  great 
eternal  judgment  which  is  to  be  consummated  in  the  coming 
and  administrations  of  the  blessed  Jesus.  Thus  the  imme- 
diate consequences  of  death  are  also  called  "the  judgment," 
(Heb.  ix.  27,)  because  there  is  then  a  broader  line  of  dis- 
tinction drawn  between  the  good  and  the  wicked,  and  God's 
government  goes  into  further  effect  in  giving  over  the  one 
class  to  wander  in  the  darkness  of  their  alienation  from 
holiness,  and  taking  the  other  class  into  peace  and  rest. 

But  all  these  adjudications  are  but  the  beginnings  of  the 
judgment,  whilst  there  is  reserved  a  still  future  series  of  ad' 
ministrations  by  which  they  are  to  be  carried  on  to  eternal 
completeness.  Hence,  we  read  that  "  God  hath  appointed  a 
day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness, 
by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained,  whereof  he  hath  given 
assurance  unto  all  men,  in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the 
dead."  The  Lord  Jesus  himself  is  to  return  again  to  the 
earth,  to  take  the  entire  dominion  of  the  world,  and  to  ad- 
minister justice  and  judgment  to  the  quick  and  to  the  dead 
according  to  his  gospel.  In  this  great  judgment,  of  which  all 


144  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

others  are  but  the  foretastes  and  the  earnest,  "  the  Father 
judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed  all  judgment  to  the 
Son,  that  all  men  should  honor  the  Son  even  as  they  honor 
the  Father."  "  For,  as  the  Father  hath  life  in  himself,  so 
hath  he  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself,  and  hath 
given  him  authority  to  execute  judgment  also,  because  he  is 
the  Son  of  man.'' 

Considering,  then,  that  the  Scriptural  idea  of  a  judge  is 
that  of  a  sovereign  prince  administering  righteous  govern- 
ment, that  the  ultimate  administrations  of  judgment  are  given 
entirely  into  the  hands  of  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  man,  and  that 
Jesus  is  to  return  to  this  world  to  reign  here  in  a  glorious  and 
universal  empire,  under  which  iniquity  is  to  be  finally  ex- 
punged and  made  to  give  place  to  eternal  righteousness  and 
peace,  we  are  prepared  for  the  announcement,  that  the  time 
of  the  judgment  is  the  time  of  Christ's  personal  reign  upon 
earth,  and  that  the  final  judgment  itself  is  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  the  sovereign  ministrations  of  the  descended  Jesus 
as  the  sovereign  of  the  world. 

Xow,  this  reign  of  Christ  is  really  eternal.  It  is  every- 
where so  spoken  of  in  the  Scriptures.  "  Of  the  increase  of 
his  government  and  peace  there  shall  be  no  end."  "  His 
kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom."  "  It  shall  stand  for- 
ever." But  there  is  one  period  in  this  sublime  reign  which 
is  especially  marked  in  the  prophecies  of  God.  That  period 
is  the  first  thousand  years  of  its  existence,  or  the  millennium. 
Until  these  first  thousand  years  are  over,  the  divine  purposes 
will  not  be  entirely  fulfilled.  It  is  only  at  the  expiration  of 
this  thousand  years  that  the  last  rebellion  is  to  be  put  down, 
and  the  second  resurrection  accomplished.  It  is  this  thousand 
years,  then,  and  especially  the  adjudications  by  which  they  are 
to  be  introduced  and  concluded,  which  constitute  the  day  of 
judgment.  It  will  have  its  morning  and  its  evening,  like 
every  other  day.  Its  morning  is  the  period  of  Christ's  "  com- 


ITS    CONNECTION    WITH    THE    MILLENNIAL    REIGX.       145 

ing  and  kingdom,"  when  he  will  raise  the  sleeping  saints, 
change  the  pious  living,  assign  all  the  faithful  their  places  in 
his  holy  and  eternal  empire,  and  break  down  and  destroy 
every  thing  that  stands  in  the  way  of  the  establishment  of  his 
princely  reign  over  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Its  evening 
is  the  close  of  the  millennial  era,  when  the  last  revolt  under 
Gog  and  Magog  shall  be  destroyed,  the  devil  cast  into  the  pit 
of  destruction,  and  all  the  unsanctified  dead  delivered  over  to 
the  second  death.  In  other  words,  there  is  a  duality  in  the 
judgment  of  the  great  day,  just  as  there  is  a  duality  in  the 
resurrection,  in  the  law,  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  in  the  na- 
ture of  Christ,  in  the  destiny  of  men,  in  the  Savior's  advent, 
and  in  many  other  things  of  which  the  Bible  speaks. 

After  long  and  prayerful  study  of  the  subject,  then,  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  first  thousand  years  of  the  Messiah's 
personal  reign  is  the  period  which  the  Scriptures  style  by  emi- 
nence "the  day  of  judgment,"  and  that  the  great  judgment 
itself  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  those  wonderful  adminis- 
trations of  the  coming  Son  of  Mary,  by  which  he  will  set  up 
his  visible  kingdom,  and  eventually  shut  up  all  its  enemies 
in  everlasting  death. 

It  is  certain,  my  brethren,  that  the  Scriptures  do  unequivo- 
cally connect  the  judgment  with  Christ's  occupancy  of  the 
throne  which  he  is  to  receive  at  his  second  coming.  Maton 
has  remarked,  that  "we  may  justly  doubt  whether  our  Savior 
hath  as  yet  executed  the  office  of  king."  He  exercises, 
indeed,  a  partial  sovereignty  in  men's  hearts;  "yet,  that  he 
doth  not  now  reign  in  that  kingdom  which  he  shall  govern  as 
man,  and  consequently  in  that  of  which  the  prophets  spake, 
his  own  words  in  Rev.  iii.  21  do  clearly  prove:  'To  him  that 
overcometh  I  will  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne/  &c., 
from  whence  it  follows  that  the  throne  which  he  here  calls  his 
own,  and  which  he  hath  not  yet  received,  (Heb.  ii.  8,  10,  12, 
13,)  must  needs  belong  to  him  as  man  :  because  the  place 
K  13 


146  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

where  he  now  sits  is  the  Father's  throne, —  a  throne  in  which 
he  has  no  proper  interest  but  as  God.  Again,  it  follows,  that 
seeing  he  is  now  in  his  Father's  throne,  therefore  neither  is 
this  the  time  nor  the  place  in  which  his  own  throne  is  to  be 
erected."  I  have  shown  you,  in  a  previous  discourse,  that 
Christ's  throne  is  the  throne  of  his  father  David,  which  is  in 
this  world.  I  know  of  no  Scripture  which  assigns  to  Christ 
any  throne  as  7i/s  own  but  this.  And  the  judgment  is  specifi- 
cally connected  with  his  sitting  upon  his  own  throne  at  his 
coming.  He  says  himself,  "  When  the  Son  of  man  shall  come 
in  his  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  THEN  shall  he 
sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory,  and  in  his  presence  shall  all 
nations  be  placed  together,  and  he  shall  separate  them  (the 
nations')  one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep 
from  the  goats."  Here  are  judicial  administrations;  and 
those  proceedings  are  attributed  to  Christ  as  the  Son  of  man, 
seated  upon  his  own  throne,  and  dealing  with  nations  in  this 
world,  to  whom  as  the  Son  of  man  he  is  present. 

In  Daniel  we  read  of  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man,  to  be 
invested  with  a  kingdom,  in  which  "  nations  and  languages" 
are  to  serve  him ;  which  kingdom  is  to  break  in  pieces  all 
other  kingdoms,  and  take  away,  destroy  and  consume  the  do- 
minion of  the  blasphemous  power  that  made  war  with  the 
saints ;  yet  these  administrations  of  the  enthroned  Jesus  are 
called  "  the  judgment," — the  sitting  of  the  judgment. 

Of  this  same  Messiah  that  was  born  of  Mary,  Isaiah  says, 
that  he» shall  bear  rule  "upon  the  throne  of  David,  to  order 
it  and  establish  it"  —  how?  —  "WITH  JUDGMENT."  The 
judgment,  then,  and  the  Messiah's  reign  are  things  which  go 
together.  Again,  he  says  of  Christ,  "A  King  shall  reign  and 
prosper,  and  shall  execute  judgment  in  the  earth."  Here  the 
reign  of  Christ  is  set  forth  as  the  judgment  of  the  world  by 
him.  So  also  says  the  Psalmist: — "He  shall  judge  the  people 
righteously,  EVEN  GOVEEN  THE  NATIONS  UPON  EARTH." 


AUTHORITIES.  147 

What  do  these  passages  mean,  if  they  do  not  speak  of  the 
judgment  of  the  world  by  Christ  as  identical  with  the  ad- 
ministrations of  his  personal  reign  as  the  Son  of  man  ?  Con- 
sider, also,  once  more,  what  he  himself  said  to  the  apostles  : — 
"  "When  the  Son  of  man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory, 
ye  also  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  jurying  the  twelve  tribes 
of  Israel."  It  is  evident  that  this  judgeship  of  the  apostles 
and  saints  is  rulership.  The  Savior  here  says  that  their  judge- 
ship  is  to  be  of  the  same  kind,  nay,  an  actual  part  of  his  own. 
As,  then,  the  judgeship  of  the  apostles  and  saints  is  their  reign 
with  Christ  over  the  nations,  so  his  judgeship  and  his  reign  arc 
one  and  the  same  thing,  and  the  judgment  and  the  adminis- 
trations of  the  Messianic  kingdom  are  identical. 

Hence,  also,  Christ's  coming  to  judge  the  world  is  called 
the  coming  of  his  kingdom.  Jesus  says,  "  There  shall  be 
signs  in  the  sun,  and  in  the  moon,  and  in  the  stars,  and  upon 
earth  distress  of  nations  with  perplexity,  the  sea  and  the 
waves  thereof  roaring,  men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and 
for  looking  after  those  things  that  are  coming  on  the  earth ; 
and  the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken ;  and  when  ye 
shall  see  all  these  things  come  to  pass,  know  ye  that  tlic,  L-iiu/- 
dom  of  God  is  ni/jh  at  hand."  And  in  the  Apocalypse  it  is 
distinctly  announced  that  "  the  time  of  wrath,  and  the  time 
of  the  dead,  that  they  should  be  judged  and  reward  given  to 
the  prophets,  saints  and  all  that  fear  God,"  is  identical  with 
the  time  when  "  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  become  the  king- 
doms of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ ;"  all  of  which  goes  to 
show  that  the  judgment  is  the  same  with  the  establishment  of 
the  Savior's  reign  upon  earth  as  the  Son  of  David. 

Joseph  Farmer  argues  the  same  thing  from  Rev.  xx.  4.  He 
says  that  "  the  kingdom  wherein  the  saints  reign  with  Christ 
a  thousand  years,  is  the  same  with  the  kingdom  of  the  Son  of 
man,  and  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  in  Daniel ;  therefore, 
it  also  begins  at  the  great  day  of  judgment,  which  is  not  con- 


148  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

summated  till  Gog  and  Magog's  destruction  at  their  end; 
therefore,  the  whole  thousand  years  is  included  in  that  great 
day  of  judgment.  The  resurrection  of  the  just  will  take 
place  in  the  morning  of  the  day  of  judgment,  or  beginning  of 
the  thousand  years." 

Dr.  Thomas  Goodwin,  one  of  the  great  patriarchs  of  English 
Independency,  also  has  this  remark,  that  "  there  is  a  special 
world,  (which  is  the  present  world  in  its  future  renewed  form,) 
called  the  world  to  come,  appointed  for  Jesus  Christ  eminently 
to  reign  in,  between  this  world  and  the  end  of  the  day  of 
judgment,"  and  that  "the  day  of  judgment  itself  is  part,  if 
not  the  whole,  of  the  time  wherein  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus 
Christ  shall  reign." 

And  Mede,  from  2  Pet.  iii.  8,  considers  it  settled,  that  the 
day  of  judgment  is  the  thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ.  He 
thus  paraphrases  that  passage  : — "  Whereas,  I  mentioned  the 
day  of  judgment,  lest  ye  might  take  it  for  a  short  day,  or  a 
day  of  a  few  hours,  I  would  not,  beloved,  have  you  ignorant 
that  one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thou- 
sand years  as  one  day." 

I  feel  myself,  therefore,  fully  warranted,  by  the  infallible 
authority  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  by  the  authority  of  men  who 
have  gone  most  profoundly  into  the  investigation  of  this  sub- 
ject, in  maintaining  that  the  great  consummating  judgment 
is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  administrations  of  the  Son 
of  man,  in  taking  to  himself  the  throne  of  his  father  David, 
and  establishing  his  sublime  kingdom  triumphant  over  all 
his  foes. 

And  this  judgment  is  just  the  carrying  into  full  effect  of 
all  previous  administrations  of  God  with  man.  The  righteous 
are  now  justified,  accepted  and  adopted  as  the  children  of 
God;  and  the  wicked  are  condemned  already;  but  these 
things  are  not  yet  fully  manifest.  The  sentence  is  not  yet 
entirely  enforced  in  either  case.  As  to  those  who  have 


HOW  "THE  JUDGMENT"  WILL  COMMENCE.         149 

passed  into  the  world  of  departed  spirits,  there  is  a  greater 
enforcement  of  the  present  divine  adjudications  than  we 
have  in  this  life.  But  still  Paul  tells  us  that  the  full  mani- 
festation of  the  sons  of  God  is  reserved  until  the  period  of 
the  resurrection  and  redemption  of  the  body;  and  that  the 
full  perdition  of  the  ungodly  is  deferred  to  the  same  or  some 
subsequent  period.  The  sentence  upon  good  and  bad  is 
already  passed;  but  it  will  not  be  fully  executed  until  the 
great  day  of  Christ's  coming  and  kingdom.  Paul  did  not 
expect  his  crown  until  then.  Peter  did  not  look  for  the  per- 
dition of  ungodly  men  until  then.  And  the  great  administra- 
tions of  that  day  will  consist  in  the  distribution  of  blessings 
and  curses  already  awarded.  It  will  simply  be  the  consum- 
mation of  adjudications  already  existing, — the  completion  of 
processes  even  now  begun.  The  resurrection  of  the  saints  is 
not  so  much  a  resurrection  for  the  purpose  of  being  judged, 
as  the  execution  of  judicial  decisions  which  already  exist. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  resurrection  of  the  wicked.  The 
one  class  are  to  rise  in  glory,  and  the  other  class  in  shame  and 
contempt.  The  resurrection  of  the  saints  is  to  occur  a  thou- 
sand years  previous  to  the  resurrection  of  the  wicked.  The 
resurrection  itself,  then,  is  a  judicial  administration ;  and  the 
judgment,  instead  of  being  confined  to  scenes  after  the  resur- 
rection, is  going  on  now,  and  takes  in  a  long  series  of  transac- 
tions already  begun,  but  which  will  only  be  consummated  by 
the  awards  of  eternity.  And  when  these  eternal  awards  are 
made,  it  will  be  but  the  ultimate  effect  of  proceedings  which 
are  at  present  in  progress. 

From  these  considerations,  it  follows  that  the  introduction 
of  "  the  day  of  judgment"  will  be  very  different  from  what 
is  often  supposed.  As  the  judgment  consists  in  the  adminis- 
trations of  the  glorious  Messianic  kingdom,  and  that  kingdom 
is  to  extend  over  nations  and  men  in  the  flesh,  its  first  symp- 
toms and  manifestations  will  be  found  in  the  existing  livin^ 

13* 


150  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

world.  The  Savior  plainly  tells  us  that  "there  shall  be  upon 
the  earth  distress  of  nations,  with  perplexity;  the  sea  and  the 
waves  thereof  roaring ;"  great  popular  and  revolutionary  dis- 
turbances ;  "  men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for  look- 
ing after  those  things  that  are  coming  upon  the  earth ;  for 
the  powers  of  heaven  shall  be  shaken."  These  words  describe 
scenes  of  the  judgment,  which  are  to  be  witnessed  before  the 
visible  manifestation  of  Christ, — scenes  which  will  glide  in 
upon  the  world  without  the  least  suspicion  on  the  part  of  men 
generally  that  they  are  the  beginnings  of  the  great  judgment. 
By  looking  at  the  various  changes  that  have  already  occurred 
in  God's  earthly  administrations,  we  find  that  when  one  dis- 
pensation was  exchanged  for  another  they  overlapped  each 
other.  The  new  always  began  before  the  old  reached  its  con- 
clusion. The  two  interpenetrated  each  other,  so  that  the 
new  began  within  the  old,  and  the  old  ran  far  into  the  new. 
The  Jewish  system  was  not  overthrown  when  Christ  was  born, 
nor  yet  when  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  commenced  at 
the  day  of  Pentecost.  The  old  system  still  stood  for  many 
years,  so  that  many  were  both  Jews  and  Christians  at  the 
same  time.  And  so  it  will  doubtless  be  when  the  millennial 
or  judgment  era  begins.  It  will  commence  within  the  world 
that  now  is.  David  was  an  exact  type  of  that  future  Son  of 
his  who  is  to  execute  justice  and  judgment  on  his  throne. 
But  David  was  the  anointed  king  long  before  Saul's  power 
was  broken  and  taken  from  him ;  and  the  processes  by  which 
he  ultimately  came  to  possess  the  throne  which  God  had  given 
him  in  Saul's  stead  consisted  of  wars,  slaughters  and  destruc- 
tions. And  so  in  the  setting  up  of  the  judgment-throne  of 
Christ,  our  David,  there  will  be  corresponding  troubles  and 
devastations.  All  other  kingdoms  must  be  broken  in  pieces 
and  consumed  before  the  kingdom  of  God  will  be  fully  set  up. 
They  must  be  broken  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  dashed  in  pieces 
as  a  potter's  vessel.  All  existing  orders  of  things  must  be 


THE   SIGNS   OP   ITS   PRESENCE.  151 

shaken  down  and  destroyed.  "  Babylon"  must  fall.  "  The 
vials  of  the  wrath  of  God"  must  be  poured  out  upon  the 
earth,  overwhelming  mankind  with  trouble,  deluging  empires 
in  blood,  and  gathering  the  kings  of  the  world  to  the  war  of 
the  great  day  of  God  Almighty,  when  they  shall  come  to 
their  end,  and  none  shall  help  them.  He  that  is  called 
"  Faithful  and  True"  must  "judge  and  make  war,"  and  "  smite 
the  nations,"  and  "tread  the  winepress  of  the  fierceness  and 
wrath  of  Almighty  God."  And  all  these  things  relate  to 
nations,  tribes  and  confederations  of  men  as  they  now  live  in 
the  flesh,  and  will  doubtless  be  felt  and  manifested  long  be- 
fore men  generally  are  at  all  acquainted  with  what  is  going 
on.  Thoughtful  people  will  wonder  at  the  amazing  upheav- 
ings  of  society  around  them ;  they  will  tremble  at  the  mighty 
agitations  which  trouble  and  confuse  every  thing  in  church 
and  state ;  they  will  grow  pale  at  the  gigantic  moves  of  revo- 
lutionists and  military  despots;  and  their  hearts  shall  fail  them 
as  they  attempt  to  look  forward  to  what  the  results  of  all 
shall  be.  Some  will  call  it  progress;  some  will  call  it  the 
result  of  wrong  education  of  the  masses;  some  will  look 
upon  it  as  the  work  of  ambitious  or  mistaken  legislation ; 
some  will  think  it  is  liberty  rising  from  her  sleep  of  ages  to 
take  dominion  of  the  world.  And  a  thousand  theologians, 
philosophers  and  jurists  will  have  as  many  different  solutions 
of  the  great  problem  of  what  is  coming  upon  the  earth,  with- 
out once  striking  upon  the  real  truth  that  the  day  of  judgment 
has  begun.  Signs  and  wonders  shall  exist  on  every  hand; 
but  unsuspecting  mortals  will  point  to  a  thousand  natural 
causes  as  explanations,  and  bigoted  sectarians  will  refuse  to 
believe  even  their  own  senses.  And  the  world,  in  all  its  de- 
partments, with  here  and  there  a  few  who  are  faithful  to  what 
God  hath  written  for  our  learning,  shall  drift  on  to  dissolution 
without  knowing  what  is  actually  transpiring. 

But  some  one  will  ask,  Shall  we  not  see  Christ  when  he 


152  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

comes,  and  thus  be  advised  when  the  great  day  of  judgment 
begins  ?  Yes,  "  every  eye  shall  see  him ;"  but  not  necessarily 
at  the  same  time,  and  only  when  he  shall  come  "  ^vith  all  his 
saints  with  him;"  and  all  his  saints  cannot  be  with  him  until 
after  the  pious  dead  are  raised,  and  the  pious  living  trans- 
lated. I  have  found  no  Scripture  which,  when  construed  with 
its  corresponding  passages,  says  a  word  about  Christ's  visibility 
or  appearance  previous  to  the  resurrection  of  the  saints.  On 
the  contrary,  we  are  repeatedly  told  that  the  day  of  judgment 
shall  come  "as  a  thief  in  the  night."  And  how  does  a  thief 
come  ?  He  not  only  comes  stealthily,  and  at  such  an  hour  as 
we  think  not,  but  he  is  already  on  the  premises,  in  the  house 
and  doing  his  work,  before  we  are  aware  of  his  presence. 
And  so  shall  it  be  with  the  coming  of  Christ  and  the  day  of 
judgment.  He  will  be  here  judging  the  nations  before  we 
know  it. 

But  another  will  ask,  Shall  not  the  trumpet  sound,  and  will 
not  that  tell  us  when  the  judgment  begins  ?  Yes,  "  the 
trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible, 
and  we  shall  be  changed •"  but  it  is  not  such  a  trumpet  as  all 
men  shall  hear  and  understand.  Paul  calls  it  "the  last 
trump."  A  last  trumpet  implies  other  trumpets  before  the 
last,  just  as  the  Scriptures  elsewhere  tell  us.  In  the  tenth 
chapter  of  Revelation,  it  is  announced  that  "  in  the  days  of 
the  voice  of  the  SEVENTH  ANGEL,  when  he  shall  begin  to  sound, 
the  mystery  of  God  shall  be  finished,  as  he  has  declared  to  his 
servants  the  prophets."  To  understand  what  is  meant  by  this 
"  seventh  angel,"  and  his  "  voice,"  we  must  look  at  the  eighth 
chapter,  where  John  says,  "  I  saw  seven  angels  which  stood 
before  God ;  and  to  them  were  given  seven  trumpets."  He 
then  heard  each  of  these  angels,  one  after  another,  sound  his 
trumpet.  The  sounding  of  the  seventh  is  therefore  "the  last 
trumpet."  And  that  this  seventh  trumpet  of  John  is  "  the 
last  trump"  of  Paul  is  evident  from  the  events  which  are 


THE   LAST   TRUMPET.  153 

attributed  to  the  sounding  of  both.  Paul  says  of  "  the  last 
trump,"  that  when  it  sounds  "  the  dead  shall  be  raised  and 
we  shall  be  changed."  All  agree  that  it  refers  to  the  period 
of  the  judgment.  And  so  also  when  John's  "seventh  angel" 
sounded  his  trumpet,  "there  were  great  voices  in  heaven,  say- 
ing, The  kingdoms  of  the  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of 
our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ ;  and  he  shall  reign  forever  and 
ever.  And  the  four-and-twenty  elders  worshipped  God,  say- 
ing, Thy  wrath  is  come,  and  the  time  of  the  dead  that  they 
should  be  JUDGED." 

The  last  trumpet,  then,  or  the  trumpet  which  is  to  usher  in 
the  scenes  of  the  judgment,  is  just  such  a  trumpet  as  were  the 
six  that  preceded  it ;  and  its  sounding  is  to  be  understood  in 
the  same  way  that  they  sounded.  And,  fortunately,  these 
six  trumpets  have  already  sounded.  We  can  point  directly  to 
the  several  events  to  which  they  refer.  The  first  four  relate 
to  the  several  invasions  of  the  Goths,  Vandals  and  Scythians 
who  laid  waste  the  Roman  empire.  The  fifth  refers  to  the 
Saracenic  wo,  inflicted  by  Mohammed  and  his  fierce  armies. 
The  sixth  introduced  the  woes  inflicted  by  the  Tartar  tribes 
or  Turks  in  their  furious  devastations.  Such,  at  any  rate, 
are  the  applications  which  the  best  interpreters  have  made  of 
these  parts  of  the  Bible,  and  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  their 
correctness.  They  certainly  refer  to  occurrences  of  this  kind 
that  have  already  transpired  upon  earth,  none  of  which  have 
been  ushered  in  by  audible  signals  from  the  heavens.  The 
trumpets  belong  simply  to  the  scenery  on  the  panorama  by 
which  these  events  were  brought  before  the  apostle's  view,  and 
not  to  the  events  themselves.  And,  as  there  was  no  audible, 
startling,  miraculous,  wide-sounding,  celestial  bugle-note  to 
announce  to  the  world  the  fulfillment  of  the  predictions  con- 
nected with  the  six  trumpets,  so  I  infer  and  conclude  that 
there  is  to  be  no  audible  trumpet-blast  from  mid-heaven  to 
inform  the  world  when  the  day  of  judgment  has  come.  For 


154  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

aught  you  or  I  know,  the  last  trump  has  already  sounded,  or 
is  now  sounding,  in  the  sermons  and  books  of  many  able  and 
earnest  preachers  and  laymen,  in  various  parts  of  the  world, 
who  are  striving  to  awaken  men's  minds  to  a  sense  of  what  is 
approaching,  and  crying  into  the  ears  of  the  slumbering 
church,  "Behold,  the  bridegroom  cometh  !  Go  ye  out  to  meet 
him." 

Yet  again  some  one  may  ask,  Shall  we  not  see  the  rising 
of  the  dead  as  they  come  forth  at  the  judgment?  I  answer 
that  I  find  nothing  in  the  Scriptures  to  prove  that  those  who 
live  in  the  flesh  when  the  day  of  judgment  comes  will  at  all 
see  or  be  conscious  of  the  rising  of  them  that  sleep  in  Jesus. 
No  human  eye  saw  Christ  rise.  And  it  may  be  that  his 
saints  will  ascend  one  by  one,  or  in  small  companies,  as  they 
lie  entombed  together,  just  as  quietly  as  they  now  sleep.  No 
man  can  say  with  certainty  that  this  "  first  resurrection"  is 
not  now  going  on.  The  fact  that  we  or  our  pious  friends 
have  not  yet  been  transfigured,  argues  nothing  against  such  a 
supposition.  Paul  says  expressly,  "  We  which  are  alive  and 
remain  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord  shall  not  prevent,"  that 
is,  go  before,  "them  which  are  asleep."  The  teaching  of  the 
Scriptures  seems  to  be  that  the  last  sleeping  saint  shall  be 
raised  before  the  first  living  saint  shall  be  translated.  And 
when  the  process  of  the  translation  of  the  living  commences, 
it  will  no  doubt  be  like  the  resurrection  to  which  it  corre- 
sponds. It  will  not  be  with  great  pomp  and  public  demon- 
strations, but  quietly  and  in  a  manner  hardly  understood  by 
those  that  remain.  The  unbelieving  multitudes  may  be 
startled  at  accounts  of  the  missing  here  and  there,  who,  like 
Enoch,  shall  not  be,  because  God  took  them  ;  but  sage  skep- 
tics will  soon  invent  some  new  theory  of  spontaneous  combus- 
tion, or  something  else,  to  account  for  the  mysterious  disap- 
pearances, and  but  few  men  will,  perhaps,  suspect  what  is 
really  going  on.  Unsanctified  preachers  will,  perhaps,  con- 


WILL   NOT   BE   GENERALLY    UNDERSTOOD.  155 

tinue  preaching,  and  unconverted  congregations  continue  to 
visit  the  sanctuaries  upon  which  God  has  written  Ichdbod. 
Lawyers  and  doctors,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  may,  perhaps, 
continue  to  talk  learnedly  about  Christianity,  which  none  of 
them  understand,  and  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  which 
none  of  them  ever  experienced,  and  chuckle  complacently 
over  the  delusion  and  fanaticism  of  those  who  told  them  that 
the  day  of  judgment  had  come.  I  do  not  say  that  things 
will  occur  just  in  this  way;  but  what  I  have  said  is  certainly 
much  more  like  the  truth  than  the  conceptions  which  men 
usually  form  of  these  matters. 

Of  this  one  thing,  my  brethren,  I  am  well  assured,  that  the 
stupendous  occurrences  of  the  day  of  judgment  will  glide  in 
upon  the  world  as  by  stealth,  and  before  a  great  number  of 
even  pious  people  shall  be  aware  that  these  great  scenes  have 
commenced ;  whilst  the  great  mass  of  worldlings  and  politi- 
cians will  not  believe  it  to  the  very  last,  when  the  Son  of  man 
will  blast  them  forever  with  his  terrific  indignation.  "As  it 
was  in  the  days  of  Noe,  so  shall  it  be  also  in  the  days  of  the 
Son  of  man.  They  did  eat,  they  drank,  they  married  wives, 
they  were  given  in  marriage,  until  the  day  that  Xoe  entered 
into  the  ark,  and  KNEW  NOT  until  the  flood  came  and  took 
them  all  aicai/."  Perhaps  it  had  rained  a  month  before  those 
wicked  scoffers  began  to  feel  any  special  alarm.  Perhaps 
many  of  them  beheld  the  ark  taken  up  by  the  swelling  waters, 
and  yet  stood  upon  the  hill-tops  laughing  at  the  old  preacher's 
folly.  Though  the  valleys  were  all  covered,  and  the  waters 
rose  higher  and  higher  every  hour,  "  they  knew  not"-  until  all 
were  swept  away  by  the  shoreless  waves.  And  "so  shall  it  be 
also  in  the  days  of  the  Son  of  man."  The  nations  shall  be 
undergoing  their  judgment,  the  sainted  dead  shall  be  raised, 
the  sainted  living  shall  be  translated,  and  the  whole  earth 
shall  heave  with  the  throes  of  judgment  already  present;  and 
yet  multitudes  will  go  on  as  they  did  before,  and  refuse  to  be- 


156  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

lieve  what  is  transpiring.  Nations  in  their  desperation  will 
continue  to  declare  war,  and  make  treaties,  and  form  alliances, 
and  join  their  armies,  and  gather  together  their  warriors 
against  the  Lamb  and  his  people,  until  at  last,  to  their  ever- 
lasting consternation,  the  Son  of  man  shall  appear  with  his 
sainted  hosts,  and  hurl  upon  them  the  mighty  thunders  of  his 
eternal  wrath.  If  it  is  not  to  be  so,  why  have  Peter  and  Paul 
told  us  that  "  the  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief  in  the 
night  ?"  If  it  is  not  to  be  so,  why  has  the  Savior  told  us  so 
earnestly  to  watcli,  and  pointed  out  so  many  signs  by  which 
we  are  to  be  guided,  and  so  repeatedly  admonished  us  to  take 
heed  lest  that  day  come  upon  us  unawares  ?  All  these  things 
prove  that  the  judgment  will  come  upon  the  world  unknown 
except  to  the  devoutest  and  most  watchful  of  the  children  of 
men.  How  important,  therefore,  that  we  should  study  with 
the  profoundest  care  what  the  inspired  prophets  have  written 
upon  this  subject  for  our  learning !  With  what  solemn  con- 
cern should  we  contemplate  the  mysterious  movements  of  the 
age  in  which  we  live  !  With  what  absorbing  interest  should 
we  ponder  the  given  signs  by  which  we  are  to  know  when  the 
great  day  of  the  Lord  shall  corne  !  Would  it  not  be  an  awful 
calamity  for  the  church,  which  professes  to  be  waiting  for 
Christ,  to  be  plunged  into  the  midst  of  the  scenes  of  that 
great  day  without  so  much  as  knowing  that  that  day  has 
come  ?  Wo,  wo,  wo,  to  them  whom  Christ,  when  he  comes, 
shall  find  ignorant  of  the  times,  and  faithless  to  their  duty ! 
"  For  behold,  the  Lord  will  come  with  fire,  and  with  chariots 
like  a  whirlwind,  to  render  his  anger  with  fury,  and  his  rebuke 
with  flames  of  fire.  For  with  fire  and  by  his  sword  will  the 
Lord  plead  with  all  flesh,  and  the  slain  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
many."  No  man  can  tell  the  painful  surprises,  sufferings 
and  scenes  of  dread  and  horror  which  shall  then  be  enacted. 
All  the  prophets  have  spoken  of  them.  Christ  has  again  and 
again  warned  us  respecting  them.  Ever  and  anon  they  rise 


WARNINGS.  15"J 

before  us  on  the  inspired  pages  to  admonish  us  of  our  danger. 
And  yet  men  go  on  in  their  sins,  and  even  Christian  people 
remain  unmoved,  not  thinking  that  we  may  even  now  be  upon 
the  very  margin  of  the  awful  day ! 

0,  careless,  prayerless,  thoughtless  child  of  Adam,  who- 
ever you  may  be,  let  me  warn  and  entreat  you  this  day  not  to 
trifle  any  longer  with  your  soul,  or  with  the  requirements  of 
Jesus !  Here  God  hath  placed  me  upon  the  watch-tower,  to 
keep  you  advised  of  threatening  danger;  and  I  now  give  you 
the  cry  of  alarm.  In  the  name  of  that  Jesus  who  will  soon 
come,  I  bid  you  escape  to  the  mountains,  tarry  not  in  all  the 
plain,  lest  you  be  consumed.  Retribution  may  appear  slow  in 
coming,  but  it  will  come.  Cold  unbelief  and  unconcern  may 
seem  good  enough  now,  but  the  ways  thereof  are  the  ways  ot 
destruction.  Lot  will  soon  have  passed  out  of  Sodom,  and 
athe  salt  of  the  earth"  have  vanished;  and  then  the  souls  of 
the  rebellious  and  the  careless  shall  be  like  stubble  to  the  fire. 
The  trampled  law  will  rise  at  last  to  assert  its  dignity  and  vin- 
dicate its  honor.  Christ  will  not  bear  the  taunts,  and  thongs 
and  mockery  of  Pilate's  hall  forever.  For  every  soul  and  for 
every  sin  there  is  a  judgment.  We  may  not  consider  it,  but 
that  will  not  change  it.  We  may  be  but  little  alarmed  with 
reference  to  it,  but  that  will  not  soften  its  terrors  or  disrobe 
it  of  its  awfulness.  We  may  argue,  and  equivocate,  and  wish 
it  were  not  so ;  but  it  will  not  reverse  the  settled  decree  of 
that  God  who  hath  said  he  will  bring  every  work  into  judg- 
ment, with  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  be  good,  or  whether 
it  be  evil. 

Young  man,  those  sports  and  gayeties  for  which  you  are 
putting  Christ  and  his  word  aside  will  all  confront  you  again 
hereafter.  Those  midnight  suppers,  rank  with  profanity  and 
intoxication,  shall  have  their  reward.  Those  Catherines  in 

*  O  O 

the  drink-shops  of  Satan,  those  witty  jests  levelled  at  sacred 
things,  those  fiery  lusts  burning  on  the  altar  of  pleasure,  all 

14 


158  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

are  written  down  in  the  book  of  doom  which  shall  soon  be 
opened.  That  scene  of  riot,  that  broken  pledge,  that  visit  to 
the  haunts  of  profligacy  supposed  to  be  known  only  to  your- 
self, each  has  its  appropriate  recompense  in  the  distributions 
of  coming  wrath. 

Yes ;  the  blood  of  murdered  innocence  will  not  always  cry 
from  the  earth  in  vain.  The  wails  of  trampled  helplessness 
will  not  go  unheard  forever.  The  widow's  wrongs,  and  the 
orphan's  robbery,  will  not  go  perpetually  unrequited.  The 
unknown  assassin,  and  the  secret  sinner,  will  yet  be  found 
out.  The  malicious  incendiary,  and  the  dishonest  clerk,  the 
mother  who  strangled  her  babe,  and  the  boy  that  cursed  his 
parents  in  his  heart,  and  every  violator  of  law  or  despiser  of 
the  truth,  shall  yet  have  to  confront  their  crimes,  and  answer 
for  them  to  the  Lord  their  Maker.  And  when  once  the  fearful 
inquisition  begins,  and  the  chained  thunders  are  let  loose,  and 
the  long  arrearages  of  wrath  come  to  be  paid  off,  and  violated 
law,  abused  goodness,  despised  mercy,  and  outraged  justice, 
all  combine  in  the  demand  for  vengeance,  oh,  who  shall  tell 
the  doom  of  him  who  is  found  uncovered  by  the  Savior's 
righteousness  and  unsanctified  by  the  Savior's  blood  ?  Who 
can  tell  the  greatness  of  his  wretchedness  ?  Who  can  weigh 
his  torment  ?  Who  can  fathom  the  depth  of  his  hell  ?  Is 
there  before  me  a  soul  so  hardened  as  to  resolve  to  en- 
counter it  ? 

Awake,  then,  0  sleeper,  and  call  upon  thy  God,  if  so  be 
that  you  perish  not !  Your  race  will  soon  be  run.  The  day 
when  Glod  will  put  his  terrific  adjudications  in  force  upon  you 
will  soon  arrive.  It  is  stealing  upon  you  as  a  lion  crouching  to 
spring  upon  his  prey.  The  great  judgment  is  close  at  hand. 
Already  we  hear  the  mutterings  of  the  approaching  tempest. 
Before  you  think  it  possible,  the  Lord  will  arise  and  say,  "It 
is  done."  Why,  then,  sleep,  and  sport,  and  fold  your  arms  in 
indifference  ?  "  Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time  !  Behold, 


NOW   IS   THE   ACCEPTED    TIME.  159 

now  is  the  day  of  salvation  I"  And  I  entreat  you,  by  all  the 
awful  perils  that  surround  us — by  the  preciousuess  of  the  iin- 
mortal  soul — by  the  untold  peace  and  blessings  of  eternity, — 
do  not  waste  your  time,  nor  neglect  your  opportunities.  Haste 
to  the  arms  that  are  stretched  out  to  save  you.  Fly  at  once 
to  the  refuge  set  before  you.  Take  sanctuary  in  Jesus,  who 
now  offers  to  save  you.  And  may  he  who  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners  be  your  portion  forever !  Amen,  and 
Amen ! 


SEVENTH  DISCOURSE. 

THE     ADMINISTRATIONS     OF     THE    JUDGMENT,     WITH     EESPECT    TO     THE 

DEAD,   WITH     KESPECT     TO    THE    LIVING THE    UNSANCTIFIED    LIVING 

TO  BE   JUDGED    NATIONALLY  AT   THE    SECOND    ADVENT — THE    RESULTS 
OF    THESE    NATIONAL    JUDGMENTS. 


ACTS  xvii.  30,  31:  And  the  times  of  tins  ignorance  God  winked  at; 
but  now  commandetli  all  men  everywhere  to  repent:  because  he 
hatJi  appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in 
rigJiteousness,  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained :  wJiereof  he 
7iath  given  assurance  unto  all  men,  in  that  he  hath  raised  him 
from  the  dead. 

I  HAVE  already  given  you  one  discourse  upon  the  judg- 
ment ;  but  I  feel  that  another  is  necessary  to  furnish  you  with 
a  clear  and  full  conception  of  what  is  revealed  concerning  it. 
In  my  last,  I  endeavored  to  disabuse  your  minds  of  some 
wrong  impressions  which  prevail  respecting  it,  and  to  present 
what  I  regard  as  the  more  Scriptural  views  of  the  subject, 
reserving  a  more  detailed  account  of  its  particular  administra- 
tions for  the  present  occasion.  You  were  then  shown  that,  in 
a  general  sense,  the  judgment  of  God  is  the  administration  or 
enforcement  of  the  government  of  God,  and  that  "the  day 
of  judgment"  is  that  notable  period,  when  the  Son  of  man 
shall  take  his  great  power,  complete  the  redemption  of  his 
saints,  destroy  all  his  enemies,  and  set  up  his  glorious  king- 
dom over  the  nations.  That  day  will  include  at  least  a  thou- 
sand years,  as  Peter  says.  It  will  have  its  morning  and  its 
evening.  Its  morning  will  be  the  period  of  Christ's  coming, 
and  include  all  the  great  "  signs"  which  immediately  precede, 
160 


JUDGMENT   OF   THE   LIVING   AND   OF   THE   DEAD.      1G1 

attend  and  follow  the  second  advent.  Its  evening  is  the 
period  when  the  last  rebellion  in  the  mystic  Gog  and  Magog 
shall  be  defeated,  the  wicked  dead  raised,  and  they,  the  devil, 
death,  and  all  that  ever  disturbed  and  polluted  the  earth, 
given  over  to  the  ever-burning  lake  of  the  second  death.  It 
is  the  morning  of  that  day  of  which  the  Scriptures  say  the 
most,  and  of  which  I  desire  now  more  particularly  to  speak. 
And  may  God  dictate  to  your  hearts  and  mine,  and  so  enable 
us  to  comprehend  his  mysterious  purposes,  that  we  may  be 
found  of  him  in  peace,  without  spot  and  blameless  ! 

You  have  doubtless  observed  in  your  reading,  that  the 
Scriptures  distinguish  between  the  judgment  of  men  in  the 
flesh,  and  the  judgment  of  the  dead.  Christ  is  "  ordained  of 
God  to  be  the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead.''  He  "  shall  judge 
tlie  quick  and  the  dead  at  his  appearing  and  kingdom."  He 
is  "  ready  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead."  By  "  the 
quick,"  we  are  of  course  to  understand  the  living, — those  who, 
not  yet  having  died,  live  in  the  body  at  the  period  when 
Christ  comes.  We  will  therefore  be  under  the  necessity  of 
distinguishing  between  the  judgment  as  respects  the  living, 
and  the  judgment  as  respects  the  dead.  The  one  is  evidently 
very  different  from  the  other ;  and,  without  treating  of  them 
separately,  we  can  have  no  clear  conception  of  what  God  has 
revealed  upon  the  subject. 

As  respects  the  dead,  the  matter  is  plain  enough  from  what 
was  presented  on  the  subject  of  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 
All  "  them  which  sleep  in  Jesus"  shall  be  raised  from  among 
the  dead,  glorified,  exalted,  gathered  to  Christ  in  the  clouds 
beyond  mortal  sight,  and  assigned  their  places  in  the  heavenly 
kingdom  according  to  their  works.  "  The  rest  of  the  dead 
live  not  again  until  the  thousand  years  are  finished."  These 
are  the  administrations  of  the  morning  of  the  judgment-day 
as  respects  the  dead. 

But  even  among  those  who  live  in  the  body  when  Christ 
L  14* 


162  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

comes,  wo  find  two  classes, — the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  with 
regard  to  whom  two  distinct  proceedings  will  take  place.  As 
to  the  pious  living  at  that  time,  they  will  be  translated,  and 
undergo  a  sudden  change  analogous  to  the  resurrection,  and  be 
taken  up  to  the  risen  saints,  to  be  dealt  with  in  the  same  way 
as  those  who  have  been  raised  from  the  dead.  Paul  says, 
"  The  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout, 
with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God ; 
and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first;  then  toe  which  are  alive 
and  remain  shall  lie  cauglit  up  together  with  them  in  the 
clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air :  and  so  shall  we  be  ever 
with  the  Lord."  "We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we  shall  be 
changed,  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last 
trump :  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be 
raised  incorruptible,  and  we  shall  be  changed."  Thus,  all 
the  really  pious,  who  live  till  the  day  of  Christ,  shall  be 
changed  and  caught  up,  as  Enoch  and  Elijah,  their  great 
types,  were  changed  and  caught  up,  and  go  to  join  the  glo- 
rious resurrection-host, — "  the  Bride  of  the  Lamb," — "  the 
church  of  the  first-born."  Their  judgment  then  will  be  per- 
sonal and  final,  introducing  them  into  the  fruition  of  their 
rewards  in  the  eternal  kingdom. 

We  come  now  to  the  unsanctified  who  shall  be  found  living 
upon  earth  when  Christ  appears.  How  is  the  introduction 
of  the  day  of  judgment  to  affect  them?  Of  course  they 
will  not  be  translated.  Their  pious  friends  and  associates 
shall  be  taken,  but  they  shall  be  left.  Neither  will  they  then 
receive  their  judgment  in  full.  The  final  judgment  of  the 
wicked  is  not  until  the  end  of  the  millennium.  Whatever, 
therefore,  shall  befall  them  on  the  morning  of  the  day  of  judg- 
ment will  only  be  their  judgment  in  part.  It  will  be  a  judg- 
ment in  the  flesh  only,  and  consist  of  the  dispensation  of  tem- 
poral troubles  and  calamities.  It  will  be  more  national  than 
personal,  and  concern  them  more  as  states,  societies  and  con- 


THE  XXV.  CHAPTER  OF  JEREMIAH.        163 

federations,  than  as  individuals.  It  will  doubtless  be  a  judg- 
ment of  the  same  kind  with  those  judgments  which  have 
heretofore  been  administered  to  wicked  powers  and  apostate 
nations  and  churches.  Upon  this  point  the  Scriptures  are 
very  plain. 

There  is  a  very  remarkable  passage  on  this  subject  in  the 
twenty-fifth  chapter  of  Jeremiah.  The  prophet  there  sets  forth 
this  judgment  of  the  nations  one  after  another  as  time  pro- 
gresses, until  it  reaches  its  grand  consummation  in  the  adminis- 
trations which  are  to  attend  Christ's  final  coming.  He  says, 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  unto  me :  Take  the  wine- 
cup  of  this  fury  at  my  hand,  and  cause  all  the  nations,  to  whom 
I  shall  send  thee,  to  drink  it.  And  they  shall  drink,  and  be 
moved,  and  be  mad,  because  of  the  sword  that  I  will  send 
among  them.  Then  took  I  the  cup  at  the  Lord's  hand,  and 
made  all  the  nations  to  drink,  unto  whom  the  Lord  had  sent 
me  :  to  wit,  Jerusalem,  and  the  cities  of  Judah,  and  the  kings 
thereof,  and  the  princes  thereof,  to  make  them  a  desolation, 
an  astonishment,  an  hissing  and  a  curse;  as  it  is  this  day; 
Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  and  his  servants,  and  his  princes,  and 
all  his  people ;  and  all  the  mingled  people,  and  all  the  kings 
of  the  land  of  Uz,  and  all  the  kings  of  the  land  of  the  Philis- 
tines, and  Ashkelon,  and  Azzah,  and  Ekron,  and  the  remnant 
of  Ashdod,  Edom,  and  Moab,  and  the  children  of  Arnmon, 
and  all  the  kings  of  Tyrus,  and  all  the  kings  of  Zidon,  and 
the  kings  of  the  isles  which  are  beyond  the  sea,  Dedan,  and 
Tema,  and  Buz,  and  all  that  are  in  the  utmost  corners,  and  all 
the  kings  of  Arabia,  and  all  the  kings  of  the  mingled  people 
that  dwell  in  the  desert,  and  all  the  kings  of  Ziruri,  and  all 
the  kings  of  Elam,  and  all  the  kings  of  the  Medes,  and  all 
the  kings  of  the  north,  far  and  near,  one  with  another,  AND 

ALL  THE   KINGDOMS  OF  THE  WORLD,  WHICH  ARE  UPON   THE 

FACE  OF  THE  EARTH  :  and  the  king  of  Sheshach  shall  drink 
after  them.  Therefore,  thou  shalt  say  unto  them,  Thus  saith 


164  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel,  Drink  ye,  and  be  drunken, 
and  spue,  and  fall,  and  rise  no  more,  because  of  the  sword 
which  I  will  send  among  you.  And  it  shall  be,  if  they  refuse 
to  take  the  cup  at  thy  hand  to  drink,  then  shalt  thou  say  unto 
them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  Ye  shall  certainly  drink. 
For  lo,  I  begin  to  bring  evil  on  the  city  which  is  called  by  my 
name,  and  should  ye  be  utterly  unpunished  ?  Ye  shall  not  be 
unpunished  :  for  I  will  call  for  a  sword  upon  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  earth,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  Therefore,  pro- 
phesy thou  against  them  all  these  words,  and  say  unto  them/' 
— and  here  comes  a  description  of  this  universal  judgment  of 
the  nations  as  it  shall  be  consummated  when  Christ  shall  be 
manifested, — "  The  Lord  shall  roar  from  on  high,  and  utter 
his  voice  from  his  holy  habitation ;  he  shall  give  a  shout,  as 
they  that  tread  the  grapes,  against  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth.  A  noise  shall  come  even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth :  for 
the  Lord  hath  a  controversy  with  the  nations,  he  will  plead 
with  all  flesh ;  he  will  give  them  that  are  wicked  to  the  sword, 
saith  the  Lord.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  Behold,  evil 
shall  go  forth  from  nation  to  nation,  and  a  great  whirlwind 
shall  be  raised  from  the  coasts  of  the  earth.  And  the  slain  of 
the  Lord  shall  be  at  that  day  from  one  end  of  the  earth  even 
unto  the  other  end  of  the  earth :  they  shall  not  be  lamented, 
neither  gathered,  nor  buried ;  they  shall  be  dung  upon  the 
ground." 

And  it  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  this,  that  the  Savior 
himself  tells  us,  that  in  the  period  of  his  coming  there  will 
be  "upon  earth  distress  of  nations  with  perplexity;"  and  that 
"when  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  all  the 
holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  upon  the  throne  of  his 
glory;  and  before  him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations,  and  he 
shall  separate  them  (THE  NATIONS)  one  from  another,  as  a 
shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the  goats."  And  when 
that  solemn  reckoning  comes,  as  the  Scriptures  abundantly 


OTHER   PROPHECIES.  165 

teach,  there  is  but  one  people  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth 
which,  as  a  nation,  shall  not  fall  among  the  goats,  and  be 
doomed  as  the  uncharitable  persecutors  and  ueglectors  of  the 
brethren  of  Jesus.  Daniel  tells  us,  that  when  the  Son  of  man 
shall  couie  in  his  kingdom,  "  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  con- 
sume all  these  (goat)  kingdoms."  Yes,  "  he  conieth  with 
clouds,  and  every  eye  shall  see  him,  and  they  also  which 
pierced  him,  and  all  the  kindreds  (4'ulat — tribes)  of  the  earth 
shall  wall  because  of  him."  He  shall  "judge  and  make 
war.7'  He  shall  be  "  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood." 
He  shall  "with  a  sharp  sword  smite  THE  NATIONS,  and  RULE 
THEM  with  a  rod  of  iron;  treading  the  winepress  of  the 
fierceness  and  wrath  of  Almighty  God.  And  all  the  fowls 
that  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven  shall  eat  the  flesh  of  kings, 
and  the  flesh  of  captains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men,  and 
the  flesh  of  horses  and  them  that  sit  on  them."  "  Behold, 
the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh, — his  feet  shall  stand  in  that  day 
upon  the  Mount  of  Olives, —  for  I  will  gather  all  nations 
against  Jerusalem  to  battle.  .  .  .  Then  shall  the  Lord  go  forth 
and  fight  against  those  nations,  as  when  he  fought  in  the  day 
of  battle.  .  .  .  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  a  great  tumult 
from  the  Lord  shall  be  among  them."  "  In  that  day  the 
Lord  shall  punish  the  host  of  the  high  ones  that  are  on  high, 
and  the  kings  of  the  earth  upon  earth;  and  they  shall  be 
gathered  together  as  prisoners  are  gathered  in  the  pit ;  when 
tJie  Lord  of  hosts  shall  reiyn  in  Mount  Zion,  even  IN  JERU- 
SALEM, and  before  his  ancients  gloriously."  Again,  it  is  said, 
"Come  near,  ye  nations,  and  hearken,  ye  people :  for  the  in- 
dignation of  the  Lord  is  upon  all  nations,  and  his  fury  upon 
all  their  armies :  he  hath  utterly  destroyed  them,  he  hath  de- 
livered them  to  the  slaughter;  and  the  mountains  shall  be 
melted  with  their  blood.  For  it  is  the  day  of  the  Lord's  ven- 
geance, and  the  year  of  recompenses  for  the  controversy  of 
Zion :"  (Is.  xxiv.  and  xxxiv.)  The  word  of  the  Lord  by 


1G'3  THE   LAST   TIMF.S. 

Xephaniah  is,  "  Wait  yc  upon  me,  until  the  day  that  I  rise  up 
to  the  prey:  for  my  determination  is  to  y<ith<r  ///.•  wit  ions, 
that  I  may  assemble  the  kingdoms,  to  pour  upon  them  my  in- 
dignation, even  all  my  fierce  anger;  for  all  the  earth  shall  be 
devoured  with  the  flaming  fire  of  my  jcalou.-y."  And  all, 
when  "  he  .shall  appear  to  the  joy"  of  those  that  "tremble  at 
his  word." 

John's  vision  of  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal  refers  to  the 
same  events,  in  which  he  beheld,  "and  the  kings  of  the 
earth,  and  the  great  men,  and  the  chief  captains,  and  the 
mighty  men,  and  all  their  adherents,  hid  themselves  in  the 
dens  and  in  the  rocks  of  the  mountains;  and  said  to  the 
mountains  and  rocks,  Fall  on  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face 
of  him  that  sittcth  on  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the 
Lamb :  for  the  great  day  of  his  wrath  hath  come,  and  who 
shall  be  able  to  stand?" 

Do  you  ask  me,  then,  what  the  judgment  is  with  regard  to 
the  unsanctified  who  live  upon  earth  when  Christ  comes? 
Here  you  have  it  described,  not  by  the  fancies  of  poets  who 
wrote  to  make  themselves  a  name,  but  in  the  words  given  by 
the  Spirit  of  the  great  Judge  himself.  And  what  a  sublime  and 
terrific  picture  it  furnishes  of  the  final  vindication  of  the  reality 
and  righteousness  of  that  divine  Sovereignty  which  every 
nation  and  confederation  on  earth,  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical, 
has  been  usurping,  invading  and  denying  ever  since  man  first 
departed  from  God  I  Where  is  the  nation,  state,  kingdom,  or 
hierarchy  under  the  broad  heavens  that  has  not  been  built  and 
sustained  more  or  less  by  injustice,  oppression,  ambition  and 
unrighteousness?  Where  is  the  policy  that  has  reigned,  or 
that  now  reigns,  in  church  or  state,  that  is  not  crooked,  per- 
verse, and  mixed  up  with  vast  and  wicked  invasions  of  the 
rights  of  Him  whose  is  the  kingdom,  and  who  alone  is  the 
rightful  governor  among  the  nations?  And  wheresoever  the 
carcass  is,  there  will  the  eaglco  be  gathered  together.  It  was 


m 


iii~7  Hi  -La.-.  ii:  At  mm*  .-.f  petto*  i^  •:  •*«%•  iM  Igp 

Tia  uiifi;    Mil  •  Al  «l 

M  h  fa*  vitt  IN  *  * 

:.a    •    -.-•:.-. 


»;  aarf  &e  fanrow  k  duaH  torn  wiffl  fanyfenwer 

-..:-:•-  i  -  :«::j.--.  "...   :.-c  V.:.  :.i:    MV:"   . -.  •.  -  •.  :    .:\:-i.   v-i.-.;    : 

:::--..;      -7.1.:..^ !— ,:- V          If.  1      --      -./..i.:      -,'..i..     .I.'     '.<-.     l.\      :  -.,  .'  : 

IninvrcfAe 


.;,T  ,-.     "i.-,:      T.;    .;-.      :,     i     :....-..:  •-    :.•:    .-..>..-;       -.'    >..:  . 


I»ri  spofci 

A..-      :'.:  V..1-.   Li-    .-    ."::::    -    -./..i.:    '  .  -  .,  „".£  :  .:     .:  ..    -- 

Ac 


moel0ml«fiL.  .  ,  .  Tbxae&re:  fear  tiboK  ma^  O 

^"i.:.:-:.  =;ii.-.;-.    -z*    L-.ri:     MldMI   b»i    i^ni.ij,,;.  0 
:;?;...   /r..,    Mm  dm  /'•   •   :/';,-.  gHJ    ffcj  RBii   §•• 

Ind  .:  tik|  cnflifi^  ;  M!  Jaol  ^ul  K«WK,  *pi  Adi 

..i   :•>-.    io:    :•;     .  -„  .;•-.    i.:  ;    .;    :  ;    rla..    :.:.ilc  -    .^. 

Bidi  OM^M||  Ac  L.rL  -,.  mm  fee; 

A  FOJL  mR»  af  AH.  auxKffis  mujjumt  I  HATE 
r~iz.  TZT  vm  I  Mi  io.:-.2  A  mx  SO    ".  i 
:  Iml  I  w3l  as/met  the  i*  memmte,  aad  wiffl 
-.:c-^?  pipHMiUl  .  .  .'     Ba  db  Z.i.:L  or. 
mat   mmm  An  Ad  U    brnpni]   v 

L--  :••!.-   .r-.     :  '  :  ^      ^:      .  :     ^    .  1.      -.:.:._     ..      ..'.        :1  :..-..  -;~.-         L..  ; 

-:  ;  :-::  --;•.-  v,^  -.-..  :,^  i  o  ...  i.-.-:  -..  :...;:  ;:-  ;;,;  ; 
titot  wiffi  I  gbe  fer  a  jrey.  Far  I  wiffl  mfiave  kolA  «*» 
«&»v  ami  ical  An  rf  affl  Ay  WQranfer  aaitk  Ae  lad.  Be- 
Ulafi,!  iril  feng  agwm  Ae  caftHity  rf  Jacob's  tart*  ami 

-.:    f      -1     I-:      .T...^:-;_.;.:,.       -.      -.      ..:;      ,...._      ,.; 


108  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

builded  on  her  own  little  hill.  Out  of  them  shall  proceed 
thanksgiving  and  the  voice  of  them  that  make  merry :  and  I 
will  multiply  them,  and  they  shall  not  be  few;  I  will  also 
glorify  them,  and  they  shall  not  be  small.  Their  children 
also  shall  be  as  aforetime,  and  their  congregation  shall  be 
established  before  ine,  and  /  will  punish  all  that  oppress 
them.  .  .  .  Behold,  the  whirlwind  of  the  Lord  goeth  forth  with 
fury,  a  cutting  whirlwind:  it  shall  fall  with  pain  upon  the 
head  of  the  wicked.  The  fierce  anger  of  the  Lord  shall  not 
return  until  he  have  done  it,  and  until  he  have  performed  the 
intents  of  his  heart :  in  the  latter  days  ye  shall  consider  it :" 
(Jer.  xxx.) 

My  brethren,  some  people  contemn  the  Jews,  and  speak 
despisingly  of  them.  For  eighteen  hundred  years  they  have 
been  a  hissing,  a  byword,  and  a  reproach.  The  nations  have 
dealt  most  unjustly  towards  them;  and  many  to  this  day 
never  look  upon  them  but  with  derision  and  with  scorn.  But 
every  Jew  that  moves  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  is  a  living 
token  of  the  coming  wrath  of  God.  All  God's  prophets  were 
Jews ;  and  there  is  a  sense  in  which  all  the  Jews  are  God's 
prophets.  Superstitious,  obstinate,  blind,  derided,  as  the  Jew 
is,  he  is  a  herald  of  the  fierce  judgment  of  Almighty  God, 
which  is  to  make  "a  full  end  of  all  nations"  wherever  he 
is  found.  He  stands  in  our  luxurious  cities,  and  before 
our  churches,  as  Jonah  amid  Nineveh,  summoning  us  to  re- 
pentance and  mourning.  And  instead  of  feeling  contempt 
and  scorn  when  we  come  into  his  presence,  we  should  rather 
be  humbled  and  solemn,  as  if  God's  prophet  were  before  us 
predicting  trouble.  He  is  the  harbinger  of  disturbances  and 
desolations  which  he  alone,  of  all  the  races  living,  shall 
escape.  His  day  of  tribulation  has  been  great  and  long, 
without  a  parallel.  His  Jerusalem  is  "  trodden  down  of  the 
Gentiles,"  and  will  remain  trodden  down  "  till  the  times  of 
the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled."  But  he  shall  be  saved  out  of  hig 


ASPECT   OF   THE   JUDGMENT   TIMES.  169 

troubles.  All  his  wounds  shall  be  healed.  He  shall  yet 
live.  And  when  the  time  of  his  nation's  resurrection  comes, 
which  has  been  so  long  foretold  by  his  holy  prophets,  then 
shall  the  nations  mourn.  "In  that  day,  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  I  will  make  Jerusalem  a  cup  of  trembling  to  all  nations 
that  are  round  about.  And  I  will  make  Jerusalem  a  burden- 
some stone  to  all  nations,  and  they  shaft  be  cut  in  pieces  and 
broken,  though  all  the  people  of  the  earth  I*,  gathered 
together."  It  is  useless  for  us  to  shut  our  eyes  to  these  awful 
announcements.  God  himself  has  made  them,  and  no  man 
can  alter  the  thing  that  is  gone  out  of  his  mouth.  The 
despised  Jew  shall  yet  look  forth  from  Zion  and  behold  the 
grave  of  every  kingdom  upon  earth. 

But  let  us  now  endeavor  to  draw  out,  and  set  forth  in 
greater  particularity,  some  of  the  things  comprehended  in 
Liiore  general  statements. 

He  that  will  be  at  the  pains  to  put  together  all  that  has 
been  revealed  concerning  the  judgment  as  it  respects  the 
living  when  Christ  comes,  will  not  fail  to  see  that  it  is  to  be  a 
scene  or  succession  of  terrific  social  agitations,  irruptions  and 
revolutions.  It  will  be  a  time  of  wars  and  rumors  of  wars; 
of  political  perplexities  and  disasters ;  of  ferments  and  pre- 
cipitations in  the  whole  existing  order  of  things;  of  civil 
storms,  earthquakes,  commotions,  overturnings  and  devast- 
ations. People  are  to  rise  up  and  overthrow  governments, 
slay  their  rulers,  prey  upon  each  other,  and  involve  the 
world  in  bloody  and  inextricable  broils.  Ambitious  and 
godless  men  will  spring  into  places  of  power,  array  their 
followers  against  each  other,  trample  down  national  and  inter- 
national kw,  and  rush  to  certain  destruction.  Infidels  and 
socialists  of  a  thousand  hues  shall  disorganize,  undermine, 
subvert  and  destroy  with  bloody  hands,  and  spread  ruin  in 
their  path.  Schisms  and  feuds  of  all  sorts  shall  break  forth 
to  cripple  and  desolate.  Great  powers,  which  think  thenv 

15 


170  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

selves  secure,  shall  be  suddenly  overwhelmed.  Infatuated 
zealots,  secular  and  ecclesiastial,  shall  lead  men  into  scenes  of 
terror  and  ruin.  Great  alliances  and  combinations  shall  be 
formed  and  swelled  into  the  most  gigantic  proportions,  until 
they  unexpectedly  fall  by  their  own  weight  and  crush  every 
thing  beneath  them.  And  the  whole  earth  shall  heave,  and 
reel,  and  start,  and  stagger,  with  agony  and  delirium ;  for  it 
is  "the  great  day  of  the  fierceness  and  wrath  of  Almighty 
God." 

In  this  condition  of  things,  all  present  forms  of  government 
shall  be  modified,  if  not  wholly  dissolved.  All  emperors  and 
kings  shall  be  divested  of  their  power ;  for  "  the  sun  shall  be 
darkened."  All  orders  of  corrupt  nobility,  princedoms,  duke- 
doms, premierships,  and  such  like,  shall  be  cast  down;  for 
"the  stars  shall  fall."  Kings,  great  men,  rich  men,  chief 
captains,  mighty  men,  and  all  their  adherents,  shall  be  stripped 
of  their  possessions,  and  driven  to  terrible  extremities  and 
desperation;  for  God  hath  said  it  in  just  so  many  words. 
Every  sceptre  shall  break  in  the  hands  of  him  who  holds  it; 
every  crown  shall  tumble  from  the  brow  of  him  that  wears  it ; 
the  mightiest  armies  shall  be  utterly  routed,  and  the  greatest 
navies  brought  to  naught.  Worlds  shall  not  rush  upon  each 
other  and  be  no  more,  but  thrones  and  human  magistracies 
will.  Matter  will  not  wreck  and  vanish,  but  all  political 
combinations  will.  The  great  orbs  of  immensity  shall  not  be 
annihilated,  but  all  whom  those  orbs  symbolize  in  this  world 
will;  for  God  will  "break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these 
kingdoms."  The  whole  body  and  framework  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's image,  from  its  golden  scalp  to  its  toes  of  clay,  every 
particle  of  it,  shall  be  "like  the  chaff  of  the  summer  thresh- 
ing-floors/'' driven  by  the  four  winds. 

A  similar  destiny  also  then  awaits  all  present  church 
organizations, — at  least  all  establishments  and  hierarchies. 
As  they  stand  connected  with  the  world's  politics,  they  shall 


CHURCH    SYSTEMS.  171 

share  the  same  fate.  "The  moon  shall  be  confounded,  and 
become  as  blood."  The  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  the  political 
heavens  shall  have  their  powers  shaken,  and  be  rolled  up  as  a 
scroll ;  and  the  stars  in  the  one  shall  be  cast  down  as  the  stars 
in  the  other.  There  is  not  a  church  system  or  denomi- 
national organization  now  on  earth  that  shall  ever  find  its  way 
into  the  millennial  times,  or  survive  this  period  of  the  wrath 
of  God.  They  are  all  provisional  and  temporary.  They  are 
all  wood,  hay  and  stubble,  which  the  fires  shall  consume. 
They  are  all  tainted.  They  are  all  founded  too  much  on  the 
wisdom  of  man,  and  consist  too  entirely  of  works  of  human 
authority  and  power  to  live.  They  shall  all  wither  and  die ; 
and  they  that  build  their  salvation  on  them  shall  die  with 
them.  There  are  many  church  politicians  who  are  as  bad  and 
as  obnoxious  to  the  judgment  as  any  state  politicians;  and  one 
doom  is  reserved  for  them  all.  My  hope  is  in  Christ  Jesus 
and  his  infallible  word,  and  not  in  any  lauded  church  system 
under  the  sun.  I  am  sure  that  there  will  be  neither  Protest- 
antism, nor  Romanism,  nor  High  Church,  nor  Low  Church,  nor 
Lutheranism,  nor  Methodism,  nor  Presbyterianism,  nor  any 
other  kind  of  ism,  in  the  glorious  millennium.  What  then 
shall  become  of  all  these  isms,  and  the  systems  founded  on 
them  ?  There  is  no  alternative  ;  they  shall  all  perish  forever 
in  the  storms  and  fires  of  wrath  which  are  beginning  to  be 
felt,  and  which  shall  soon  sweep  over  all  the  earth ;  and  they 
that  adhere  to  these  systems  to  the  neglect  of  Christ  and  his 
pure  gospel  shall  perish  with  them. 

Brethren,  think  me  not  mad — think  me  not  beside  myself. 
I  declare  unto  you  the  words  of  truth  and  soberness.  Study 
the  word  of  God,  think  for  yourselves,  only  adjust  in  your 
own  minds  some  of  the  great  facts  which  we  all  admit,  and 
you  cannot  resist  the  conclusion  which  I  have  announced. 
Your  beautiful  ceremonies,  your  magnificent  rituals,  your 
boasted  democracy  of  church  order,  your  vast  and  unique  or- 


172  THE   LAST    TIMES. 

ganization,  all  constructed  by  human  wisdom,  must  be  changed 
and  come  to  naught.  Your  unsanctified  and  defiant  denomi- 
national champions,  and  your  sectarian  Goliaths,  shall  all  fall 
dead  before  the  sling-stone  of  that  David  who  cometh  to  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness;  and  all  their  marshaled  hosts, 
who  have  been  rallied  under  the  battle-cry  of  mere  party,  shall 
be  scattered  in  confusion,  and  scorched  by  the  hot  flames  of 
God's  retribution. 

Understand  me  rightly.  I  am  not  exhorting  any  one  to 
forsake  his  denomination,  or  to  stand  aloof  from  the  church  in 
the  forms  in  which  it  now  exists.  That  would  only  augment 
partyism,  and  increase  needless  contention  or  fatal  indiffer- 
ence. Let  him  who  would  approve  himself  unto  his  Lord  do 
the  best  he  can  under  the  circumstances.  Keep  diligently  to 
your  Bible,  make  the  most  of  your  opportunities,  and  meekly 
•wait  and  watch  for  the  coming  of  the  Savior  to  set  all  things 
right  by  making  all  things  new.  If  you  are  a  Lutheran, 
work  as  a  Lutheran ;  but  let  the  Scriptures  and  not  Lutheran- 
ism  be  your  guide.  If  you  are  a  Methodist,  work  as  a  Method- 
ist; but  work,  not  for  Methodism,  but  for  Christ.  If  you 
are  an  Episcopalian,  work  as  an  Episcopalian;  but  rest  not 
your  hope  and  aim  in  Episcopalianism,  but  in  the  simple  gos- 
pel of  the  blessed  God.  Let  the  ism  be  to  you  as  though  it 
were  not,  and  embrace  Christ  with  all  your  heart,  and  lay  hold 
of  him  as  your  all  in  all.  For  as  certain  as  the  judgment,  all 
these  isms  must  die.  The  great  day  shall  make  an  end  of 
them.  And  if  you  have  no  Christianity  but  them,  alas  for 
your  hope  ! 

These  judicial  visitations,  however,  will  fall  much  more 
heavily  upon  some  nations  and  combinations  than  upon 
others.  Some  are  deeper  in  apostasy  and  guilt  than  others; 
and  the  righteous  Judge  shall  apportion  the  punishment  to  the 
crime.  There  are  some  nations,  confederations  and  hierarchies 
specially  singled  out  in  the  prophecies  as  the  objects  of  Jeho- 


THE    TEN-HORNED    WILD    BEAST.  173 

vah's  most  terrific  indignation.     Conspicuous   among   these 
are, — 

1.  The  ten-horned  wild  beast  of  Daniel  and  John ; 

2.  The  image  of  the  beast;  and, 

3.  Great  Babylon. 

I  cannot,  in  this  connection,  present  and  reason  out  the 
processes  by  which  the  objects  denoted  by  these  symbols  are 
to  be  identified.  A  vast  amount  of  criticism  and  comment 
are  involved,  through  which  I  have  waded,  but  which  are 
quite  too  voluminous  and  uninteresting  to  be  repeated  in  pub- 
lic discourse.  There  are  conclusions  to  which  I  have  come, 
however,  which  I  will  announce,  remarking  at  the  same  time 
that  I  believe  them  to  be  such  as  can  be  relied  on  and  sus- 
tained. 

The  ten-horned  wild  beast  of  Daniel  and  John  is  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Roman  empire.  Its  ten  horns  are  the  ten 
kingdoms  which  took  the  place  of  the  old  Roman  empire, 
and  now  occupy  its  territory.  It  is,  therefore,  the  symbol  of 
the  supreme  civil  power  of  the  ten  kingdoms  into  which  the 
Roman  empire  was  divided.  These  ten  kingdoms  originally 
embraced  the  Huns,  the  Ostrogoths,  the  Visigoths,  the  Franks, 
the  Vandals,  the  Sueves,  the  Burgundians,  the  Herulians  and 
Thuringians,  the  Saxons  and  the  Longobards.  At  present,  they 
perhaps  embrace  the  three  Papal  States,  Xaples,  Tuscany, 
Austria,  Great  Britain,  France,  Portugal  and  Spain.  The 
supreme  civil  power,  then,  of  these  and,  may-be,  a  few  other 
countries,  is  the  wild  beast  of  whom  we  are  now  speaking. 

The  image  of  the  beast  denotes  that  array  of  ecclesiastical 
rulers  and  teachers  which  princes  and  people  have  been  de- 
luded to  erect  into  a  vast  church  hierarchy  under  the  pope, 
who  exercises  over  it  a  sway  and  jurisdiction  analogous  to,  or 
the  image  of,  that  which  the  civil  rulers  exert  over  their  po- 
litical empires.  This  image  of  the  beast  derived  its  existence 
and  power  from  the  false  teachings  and  lying  wonders  of  the 


174  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

papal  beast  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  the  misled  political 
authorities  on  the  other :  (Rev.  xiii.  14,  15.)  It  is,  therefore, 
that  empire  of  priests  and  church  officials,  presented  in  what 
is  falsely  called  "  the  Catholic  religion,"  and  who  are  feared 
and  worshipped  by  their  millions  of  subjects  with  an  idolatry 
as  debasing  as  it  is  wicked. 

But  what  is  meant  by  great  Babylon — that  mother  of  har- 
lotry and  source  of  earth's  worst  abominations  ?  Some  have 
thought  that  this  symbol  denotes  the  city  of  Rome.  Some 
have  taken  it  as  the  representative  of  the  Romish  church. 
Some  have  given  it  still  other  applications.  But  I  know  of  no 
explanation  which  so  completely  meets  the  case,  as  that  which 
takes  great  Babylon  as  the  symbol  of  that  base  and  corrupting 
system  known  as  the  union  of  church  and  state.  The  city  of 
Rome  cannot  be  meant ;  for  great  Babylon  is  presented  as  a 
living  agent ;  and  living  agents  cannot  represent  inanimate 
objects.  She  is  represented  as  borne  by  the  wild  beast;  and 
must  therefore  be  something  different  from  the  mere  secular 
power,  and  yet  entirely  dependent  upon  the  secular  power. 
The  Romish  church,  as  such,  does  not  wholly  depend  upon 
the  secular  power;  but  all  state  churches  do.  I  therefore 
take  great  Babylon  as  the  symbol  of  the  living,  seductive  and 
corrupting  body  of  nationalized  hierarchies,  both  Papal  and 
Protestant,  whether  in  the  Old  World  or  in  the  New. 

Now,  then,  let  us  glance  at  the  destiny  of  these  three  mon- 
sters, intertwined  as  they  are,  for  the  most  part,  the  one  with 
the  other,  and  see  how  they  will  be  affected  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  day  of  judgment. 

As  to  great  Babylon,  her  doom  is  sealed.  She  shall  fall ; 
and  great  shall  be  her  fall.  In  the  visions  of  John,  as  soon 
as  one  angel  announced  that  "  the  hour  of  judgment  is  come," 
another  followed,  saying,  "Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen,  that 
great  city,  because  she  made  all  the  nations  drink  of  the  wine 
of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication :"  (Rev.  xiv.  7,  8.)  What- 


STATE   CHURCHES.  175 

ever  may  be  said  in  their  favor,  these  state  churches  and  na- 
tionalized hierarchies  are  an  abomination  in  the  sight  of  God. 
They  are  "  full  of  names  of  blasphemy."  They  have  ever 
arrogated  to  themselves  the  rights  of  God,  and  assumed  un- 
warranted authority  over  his  legislation  and  over  the  con- 
sciences of  his  people.  They  are  august  and  splendid  es- 
tablishments, "  robed  in  purple  and  scarlet,  and  decked  with 
gold,  and  precious  stones,  and  pearls."  They  have  seduced 
millions  into  spiritual  fornication,  by  their  elegant  attire  and 
their  bewitching  flatteries.  But  all  their  pompous  decorations 
and  lofty  pretensions  will  not  hide  their  impurities  from  the 
eye  of  a  jealous  God.  They  are  all  "drunk  with  the  blood 
of  the  saints,  and  with  the  blood  of  the  witnesses  of  Jesus." 
Sustained  as  they  are  with  more  than  princely  revenues,  and 
shielded  by  the  sword  of  secular  power,  they  have  been  the 
agents  of  the  bloodiest  persecutions  that  the  world  has  ever 
seen  since  the  days  of  the  pagan  emperors.  Ask  a  Papist  who 
were  the  authors  of  those  disgraceful  inflictions  in  various 
countries  professedly  Christian,  by  which  thousands  upon 
thousands  lost  their  lives  for  their  religious  opinions,  and  he 
will  tell  you,  the  civil  government.  Ask  rabid  Protestants, 
and  they  will  tell  you,  the  Romish  church.  But  consult  the 
truth,  and  it  will  tell  you,  it  was  the  union  of  church  and 
state.  Even  in  the  most  enlightened  Protestant  countries 
where  such  union  exists,  the  skirts  of  its  robes  are  clotted 
with  the  blood  and  saturated  with  the  tears  of  wronged  and 
oppressed  dissenters.  I  say  this  with  shame  and  sorrow ;  but 
so  it  is,  and  God  has  noted  it  all  in  his  book  of  doom.  There 
never  has  been  a  state  church,  in  any  age  or  any  country,  that 
has  not  been  more  or  less  an  intolerant  and  a  persecuting 
church.  And  where  the  papal  hierarchy  has  enjoyed  this  re- 
lation to  the  secular  power,  God  alone  knows  all  the  wrongs 
that  have  been  perpetrated,  and  the  streams  of  martyr-blood 
that  have  been  spilled.  It  was  not  the  state,  as  Rome  would 


176  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

persuade  us ;  it  was  not  the  Romish  church,  as  such ;  but  it 
was  the  product  of  church  and  state  united, — the  result  of  the 
blasphemous  undertaking  on  the  part  of  the  civil  power,  with 
the  consent  of  those  who  called  themselves  the  church,  to 
legislate  in  things  which  belong  only  to  the  individual  con- 
science and  its  God.  Religion  is  not  a  subject  for  human 
legislation.  It  is  not  for  man  to  say  how  we  are  to  be  held  in 
communion  and  allegiance  with  our  Maker.  Some  tell  us  that 
it  is  our  duty  to  obey  the  state ;  and  others  insist  that  it  is  our 
duty  to  obey  the  church ;  and  from  these  two  things  it  is 
argued  that  it  is  pre-eminently  our  duty  to  obey  where  church 
and  state  speak  together.  But  the  whole  argument  is  sophis- 
tical and  unsound.  No  man,  or  combination  of  men,  has  any 
right  to  impose  laws  between  the  soul  and  its  God.  Jehovah 
himself  is  the  only  Lord  of  the  conscience.  When  Nebu- 
chadnezzar commands  his  subjects  to  fall  down  and  worship 
an  image,  it  is  an  inalienable  right  in  us,  like  the  three  He- 
brew children,  to  disobey.  When  Darius  forbids  calling  upon 
God,  Jehovah  is  with  every  Daniel  who  sets  the  prohibition 
at  defiance.  When  the  Sanhedrim  pronounces  a  ban  upon 
the  preaching  of  Peter  and  John,  the  Lord  God  of  the  holy 
prophets  commands  them  to  trample  it  under  their  feet.  The 
human  soul  is  obliged  by  no  law  which  meddles  with  its  rela- 
tions to  its  Creator.  And  the  great,  crying,  and  unpardonable 
sin  of  great  Babylon  is,  that  it  everywhere  undertakes  to 
legislate  for  God,  and  forges  chains  to  shackle  the  free-born 
soul. 

But  Babylon  shall  be  "  remembered  before  God,  to  give  to 
her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the  fierceness  of  his  wrath."  All 
these  state  hierarchies  shall  be  shaken  down  and  overwhelmed. 
The  very  governments  which  now  support  and  make  use  of 
them  shall  turn  against  them.  God  says,  "The  ten  horns 
upon  the  beast  shall  hate  her,  and  make  her  desolate  and 
naked,  and  shall  eat  her  flesh,  and  burn  her  with  fire."  States 


GREAT   BABYLON.  177 

in  their  straits  shall  rob  her  of  her  wealth,  confiscate  her 
goods,  divest  her  of  her  possessions,  appropriate  her  benefices 
and  revenues  to  other  purposes,  and  reduce  the  whole  system 
to  distress  and  desolation.  Such  is  to  be  her  fall ;  and  after 
her  fall  shall  come  her  punishment.  Her  lord-bishops,  her 
high  superintendents  and  all  her  officials  shall  yet  have  a 
dreadful  road  to  travel.  God  will  yet  say  to  those  whom  she 
has  wronged,  impoverished  and  oppressed,  "Give  to  her  as 
she  also  gave;  and  double  to  her  according  to  her  works. 
Into  the  cup  which  she  has  poured,  pour  to  her  double.  As 
much  as  she  has  glorified  herself  and  lived  luxuriously,  so 
much  torment  give  her  and  sorrow."  "  In  one  day  shall  her 
plagues  come,  death,  and  sorrow,  and  famine;  and  she  shall 
be  burned  with  fire  :  for  mighty  is  the  Lord  God  who  shall 
judge  her.  And  the  kings  of  the  earth" — the  civil  powers — 
"  who  have  committed  fornication  and  lived  luxuriously  with 
her,  shall  bewail  her,  and  lament  for  her,  when  they  shall  see 
the  smoke  of  her  burning ;  and  standing  afar  off  for  fear  of 
her  torment,  shall  say,  Alas,  alas !  that  great  city  Babylon, 
that  mighty  city !  for  in  one  hour  is  thy  judgment  come.  And 
the  merchants  of  the  earth" — the  nobles  and  dignitaries  that 
held  the  patronage  of  her  benefices — "shall  weep  and  mourn 

over  her And  they  that  were  made  rich  by  her  shall 

stand  afar  off  for  fear  of  her  torment,  and  cast  dust  on  their 
heads,  crying,  weeping  and  wailing,"  whilst  all  heaven  shouts, 
ALLELUIA  !  that  her  judgment  is  come  :  (Rev.  xviii.)  Her 
destruction  shall  be  entire.  As  a  millstone,  when  thrown  into 
the  depths  of  the  sea,  sinks  forever  out  of  the  sight  of  men, 
so  shall  this  great  harlot  be  swept  from  the  earth,  without 
leaving  so  much  as  a  rack  behind. 

As  to  the  wild  ten-horned  beast, — the  civil  powers  that  have 

grown  out  of  the  Roman  empire, — all  of  which  are  but  branches 

and  modifications  of  the  old  Roman  monster,  with  great  iron 

teeth  and  claws  of  brass,  devouring,  breaking  in  pieces  and 

M 


178  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

trampling  under  foot, — its  destiny  is  also  announced.  Tbero 
is  not  a  throne  upon  the  territory  of  the  Caesars  that  is  not  a 
nuisance  in  the  face  of  lieaven.  They  are  all  built  in  usurpa- 
tion and  wrong.  They  are  all  sustained  by  tyranny  and  stained 
with  blood.  They  bave  deceived,  and  they  shall  be  deceived 
and  lured  to  perdition.  By  tbe  pressure  of  the  times,  and  by 
the  cunning  of  demons,  they  shall  yet  be  brought  into  one 
grand  coalition,  and  go  forth  to  the  war  of  the  great  day  of 
God  Almighty,  when  the  hand  of  the  descended  Jesus  shall 
strike  them  to  the  earth  to  rise  no  more. 

I  have  intimated,  that  the  Jewish  race  is  to  be  restored  to 
its  ancient  home  and  the  Jewish  nationality  rebuilt.  I  will 
illustrate  this  point  at  greater  length  hereafter.  In  connection 
with  this  restoration  of  the  Jews,  much  offense  will  be  taken 
by  some  of  the  reigning  powers.  The  prophet  says,  "  Jeru- 
salem shall  be  made  a  cup  of  trembling  to  all  nations  that  are 
round  about,  and  a  burdensome  stone  to  all  nations."  There 
shall  be  great  controversies  about  the  occupation  of  the  Holy 
Land.  Politics  will  become  inextricably  involved.  Strange 
alliances  shall  be  brought  about,  until  at  length  all  the  powers 
of  Europe  shall  find  themselves  involved  in  one  great  confede- 
ration, under  the  last  head  of  the  beast, — most  likely  the  Em- 
peror of  the  French, — and  going  forth  to  a  great  Eastern  war,  of 
which  Palestine  will  be  the  centre.  This  vast  combination, 
under  its  infidel  leader,  shall  overflow  the  whole  world,  destroy 
many  countries,  have  power  over  the  treasures  of  Egypt,  enter 
into  the  glorious  land,  plant  its  tents  between  the  seas  in  the 
glorious  holy  mountain,  and  there  encounter  the  fierce  wrath 
of  God :  (Dan.  xi.  40-45.)  Plague  unprecedented  shall  seize 
the  invading  hosts.  "Their  flesh  shall  consume  away  while 
they  stand  upon  their  feet;  and  their  eyes  shall  consume  away 
in  their  sockets;  and  their  tongues  shall  consume  away  in  their 
mouth;  and  great  tumult  from  the  Lord  shall  be  among  them :" 
(Zech.  xiv.  12-16.)  The  beast  shall  be  "slain,  and  its  body 


THE   PAPAL   HIERARCHY.  179 

destroyed  and  given  to  the  burning  flame:"  (Dan.  vii.  11.) 
The  heavens  shall  open;  the  Son  of  man  shall  appear;  his 
kingdom  shall  be  revealed ;  the  beast  and  false  prophet  shall 
be  taken  and  given  to  the  fires;  and  thus  shall  God  "break  in 
pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms:"  (John  xix.  11-20; 
Dan.  ii.  44.) 

And  as  to  the  image  of  the  beast, — the  ecclesiastical  empire 
of  popery, — its  destiny  is  so  closely  identified  with  great  Baby- 
lon and  the  beast  itself,  that  when  we  read  the  fate  of  the  one 
we  have  in  substance  the  fate  of  the  other.  Stroke  after 
stroke  shall  fall  upon  it,  wasting,  crippling,  denuding,  consum- 
ing it,  until  the  brightness  of  the  Savior's  presence  shall  bring 
it  to  everlasting  destruction:  (2  Thess.  ii.  8.)  "And  if  any 
man  worship  the  beast,  and  his  image,  and  receive  his  mark 
in  his  forehead  or  in  his  hand,  the  same  shall  drink  of  the 
wine  of  the  wrath  of  God,  which  is  poured  out  without  mix- 
ture into  the  cup  of  his  indignation,  and  he  shall  be  tormented 
with  fire  and  brimstone  in  the  presence  of  the  holy  angels,  and 
in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb :"  (Rev.  xiv.  9, 10.) 

Let  men  beware,  then,  how  they  tamper  with  these  objects 
of  God's  distinguishing  and  extinguishing  retributions.  Let 
them  beware  how  they  approve,  justify,  defend  and  abet  the 
cause  of  state  churches,  lest  they  involve  themselves  in  the 
whoredoms  of  great  Babylon.  Let  them  beware  how  they 
admire,  applaud  and  revere  the  tyrannical  and  blasphemous 
systems  and  policies  of  European  legislation  and  dominion; 
for  they  that "  worship"  this  ten-horned  monster,  or  receive 
his  mark,  shall  go  down  into  the  pit.  And  especially  let  men 
beware,  that  they  give  not  their  reverence  to  the  image  of  this 
beast,  or  bow  their  knees  or  necks  to  the  ecclesiastical  empire 
of  popery,  or  in  any  way  identify  themselves  with  its  abomi- 
nations; for  they  that  bear  its  insignia  shall  "have  no  rest  day 
nor  night;  and  the  smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  for- 
ever and  ever."  It  is  upon  these  systems,  their  adherents  and 


180  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

abettors,  that  the  heaviest  and  thickest  woes  of  the  judgment 
of  the  great  day  shall  fall. 

From  these  statements  it  appears  that  there  is  after  all  a 
wise  and  mighty  overruling  providence  in  the  affairs  of  men. 
Whatever  skeptics  and  politicians  may  say,  "The  kingdom  is 
the  Lord's,  and  he  is  the  governor  among  the  nations."  "He 
setteth  up  kings,  and  he  putteth  them  down."  "  He  ruleth 
in  the  kingdoms  of  men,  and  giveth  them  to  whomsoever  he 
will."  He  "  frustrateth  the  tokens  of  liars,  and  maketh 
diviners  mad;  he  turneth  wise  men  backwards,  and  maketh 
their  knowledge  foolish."  This  world  is  not  a  fatherless 
thing,  cast  off  to  everlasting  orphanage.  It  may  seem  end- 
lessly confused  now;  but  God  hath  appointed  a  day  in  the 
which  he  will  judge  it  in  righteousness,  by  that  man  whom  he 
hath  ordained,  whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men, 
in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead.  Its  affairs  are  not 
things  of  chance,  nor  its  destinies  without  control.  Wise  men 
may  plan,  and  wicked  men  may  plot,  and  mighty  men  may 
execute;  but  the  ultimate  disposal  of  every  thing  is  of  the 
Lord.  The  mightiest  and  the  weakest,  the  vastest  and  the 
minutest,  are  equally  under  his  omniscient  eye  and  equally 
within  his  almighty  power.  He  is  in  the  senates  and  cabinets 
of  nations,  in  the  battle-field  of  conflicting  armies,  at  the  desk 
of  the  author,  and  in  circles  of  the  designing  everywhere,  and 
always  moulding,  directing,  restraining  all  things  for  the  con- 
summation of  his  own  great  purposes,  and  making  even  the 
wrath  of  man  to  praise  him.  People  may  rage,  and  nations 
disregard  his  laws,  and  men  act  out  their  villany;  but  they 
shall  never  press  Jehovah  to  extremities,  or  defeat  that  holy 
arm  which  stands  pledged  for  the  everlasting  defence  of  the 
righteous.  He  knows  the  end  of  all  things  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  his  inscrutable  arrangements  are  all  made  accord- 
ingly. There  is  not  a  turn  in  human  things  which  he  has  not 
taken  into  his  sublime  calculations.  Matters  may  be  very  dark 


SECURITY   OF   THE   DEVOUT.  181 

to  us,  but  they  are  all  plain  to  him.  Wisdom,  order,  right- 
eousness and  glory  shall  yet  come  out  of  the  mighty  riddle  of 
human  history.  The  day  of  judgment  shall  solve  the  problem 
that  has  puzzled  men  so  long.  Confusion,  injustice,  falsehood 
and  wrong  may  seem  to  triumph  for  a  while ;  but  the  result  is 
certain.  Their  grave  is  dug.  Their  doom  is  at  hand.  They 
may  be  too  mighty  for  us ;  but  Christ  is  Lord,  and  he  must 
reign  until  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet.  Antichrist 
shall  die;  tyranny  shall  die;  error  shall  die;  sin  shall  die;  and 
at  last  death  itself  shall  die.  The  world  has  a  ruler  who  will 
subdue  all  evil  and  set  things  right  in  the  end.  The  sublime 
wisdom  and  rectitude  of  all  his  administrations  will  yet  be  the 
glory  and  delight  of  the  saints,  and  the  rapture  of  his  holy 
ones  forever  and  ever. 

And  in  view  of  the  commotions  and  distresses,  the  overturn- 
ings  and  the  desolations,  that  await  the  unsanctified  world,  how 
precious  are  the  hopes  of  the  devout !  If  we  are  in  Christ 
Jesus,  there  is  no  more  condemnation.  The  true  people  of 
God  are  safe.  They  are  enclosed  in  everlasting  arms.  The 
broad  shield  of  Omnipotence  is  over  them.  They  may  pass 
through  a  sharp  night,  but  it  will  be  short.  Though  the 
powers  of  the  heavens  be  shaken,  and  the  foundations  of  the 
earth  be  moved,  they  that  put  their  trust  in  the  Lord  shall 
never  be  confounded.  Wars  may  come,  and  bloody  revolu- 
tions may  come;  famine  may  come,  and  plagues  may  come; 
thrones  may  fall  and  empires  may  dissolve,  and  all  the  proud 
works  of  human  genius  may  be  dashed  to  desolation;  but,  if 
our  hope  is  fixed  on  God,  and  our  souls  are  united  with  his 
Anointed,  we  shall  sing,  amid  the  turmoil  and  the  wreck,  "Alle- 
luia! for  tlie  Lord  God  omnipotent  reignetli!" 

Only  let  us  see  to  it,  then,  that  we  be  indeed  the  disciples 
and  friends  of  Jesus.  Let  us  not  rest  satisfied  with  perad- 
ventures,  but  give  the  most  earnest  heed  to  the  things  which 
we  have  heard,  lest  at  any  time  we  should  let  them  slip 

16 


182  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

Signs  of  the  approaching  judgment  are  already  being  mani- 
fested on  every  side.  All  fingers  are  pointing  to  the  great 
crisis  as  near  at  hand.  The  days  in  which  we  live  are 
freighted  with  intense  and  exhaustless  issues.  We  stand 
upon  a  point  where  the  last  rays  of  a  fading  world  mingle 
with  the  dawn  of  an  opening  eternity.  Nations  and  churches, 
superstitions  and  errors,  are  heaving  and  tottering  for  their 
final  fall.  The  time  is  come  that  judgment  must  begin.  The 
fires  stored  away  so  long  are  beginning  to  beat  against  their 
prison-walls,  and  to  clamor  for  their  promise  of  release.  And 
may  kind  Heaven  help  us  to  prepare  to  meet  our  God ! 


EIGHTH  DISCOURSE. 


THE  RESTORATION  OF  THE  JEWS — OBJECTIONS  ANSWERED — NEW  TES- 
TAMENT ALLUSIONS  TO  THE  SUBJECT ANCIENT  PROPHECIES HIS- 
TORICAL FACTS PARTICULARS  EXPLAINED. 


Ez.  xxxvii.  21 :  Say  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord :  Behold,  I 
will  take  the  children  of  Israel  from  among  tlie  heathen,  (nations,) 
whither  they  be  gone,  and  will  gather  them  on  every  side,  and 
bring  them  into  their  own  land. 

IT  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  our  inquiries  in  this  series 
of  discourses  relate  to  but  one  great  epoch  in  human  affairs, 
called  "The  Last  Times"  and  "The  End  of  all  Things." 
All  that  I  have  thus  far  said  appertains  to  this  wonderful  and 
critical  period.  The  personal  return  and  manifestation  of 
Christ  in  our  world,  "the  restitution  of  all  things,"  the  resur- 
rection of  the  sainted  dead,  the  transfiguration  of  the  pious 
living  at  the  time,  and  the  terrific  administrations  of  the  en- 
throned Messiah  upon  the  guilty  nations  and  confederations 
of  the  earth, —  all,  to  a  great  extent,  are  contemporaneous. 
They  all  synchronize  or  happen  together  in  the  same  general 
period.  But  there  are  still  other  great  occurrences  predicted 
for  that  time  of  wonders.  Among  these  is  the  conversion 
and  final  restoration  of  the  Israelitish  race. 

That  the  great  bulk  of  this  astonishing  people  will  yet  be 
converted  to  Christ  the  Messiah,  and  be  again  grafted  upon 
the  olive-tree  of  the  spiritual  Israel  from  which  they  have 

.  been  measurably  broken  off,  is  pretty  well  agreed  on  all  hands. 

183 


184  THE   LAST  TIMES. 

Whitby  says,  "  This  hath  been  the  constant  doctrine  of  the 
church  of  Christ,  owned  by  the  Greek  and  Latin  fathers,  and 
by  all  the  commentators  I  have  met  with."  The  inspired 
declarations  upon  this  subject  are  too  explicit  to  be  evaded. 
" All  Israel  shall  be  saved :  as  it  is  written,  There  shall  come 
out  of  Sion  the  Deliverer,  and  shall  turn  away  ungodliness 
from  Jacob  :  FOR  THIS  is  MY  COVENANT  UNTO  THEM." 

But  that  this  scattered  family  of  Jacob  shall  again  be 
gathered,  and  nationally  restored  to  the  land  of  their  fathers, 
is  not  so  generally  admitted.  Some  have  no  patience  at  all 
with  such  a  theory,  and  sneeringly  ask,  What  can  be  the 
object  of  such  a  restoration?  What  end  is  it  to  answer? 
What  purpose  can  it  subserve  ?  But  to  all  such  methods  of 
reasoning,  it  is  enough  to  reply  that  our  business  is  with  the 
word  of  God,  and  that  if  God  has  announced  it  as  his  purpose 
so  to  restore  the  Jewish  nation  he  certainly  has  adequate 
reasons  to  justify  his  purpose.  No  Christian  will  refuse  to 
defer  to  the  rectitude  of  Jehovah's  doings.  The  only  ques- 
tion is,  whether  God  has  said  that  he  will  restore  the  Jewish 
nation;  for,  if  he  has  so  said,  no  reasonings  of  ours  can  invalid- 
ate his  promise  or  throw  uncertainty  upon  his  word.  Whe- 
ther we  can  foresee  the  objects  to  be  subserved  or  not,  there 
is  not  a  "jot  or  tittle"  of  his  revelation  which  is  not  more 
reliable  than  the  mere  abstract  reasonings  of  all  the  wisest 
thinkers  that  ever  lived. 

Others  tell  us  that  the  restoration  of  the  Jewish  nationality 
would  be  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel ;  that  all  such 
distinctions  and  differences  as  are  implied  in  the  re-establish- 
ment of  that  nation  have  been  superseded  by  the  new  cove- 
nant; that  "the  middle  wall  of  partition"  between  Jews  and 
Gentiles  has  been  broken  down  in  Christ;  and  that  therefore 
we  cannot  hope  for  Israel's  restoration.  But  what  of  that, 
if  God  has  clearly  declared  that  he  will  rebuild  Jerusalem  and 
the  Jewish  state  ?  WTe  dare  not  set  aside  the  positive  declara- 


OBJECTIONS   ANSWERED.  185 

tions  of  the  Lord  by  human  inferences.  But  it  is  not  true 
that  the  gospel  has  abolished  all  national  distinctions.  The 
wall  of  partition  has  been  broken  down  only  so  far,  that  the 
offers  of  forgiveness  and  eternal  life  are  now  made  equally 
to  Jews  and  Gentiles,  so  that  either  may  embrace  them  and 
be  numbered  with  God's  redeemed  ones.  Receiving  Christ 
as  the  Savior  does  not  make  Englishmen  Americans,  nor 
Frenchmen  Greeks.  These  national  distinctions  still  remain, 
however  eminent  may  be  our  saintship,  and  will  perhaps 
remain  forever.  Converting  a  Jew  to  Christianity  will  not 
make  him  a  Gentile.  And  if  there  can  be  an  English  or 
American  nationality  without  subverting  the  spirit  and  nature 
of  the  gospel,  there  may  also  be  a  Jewish  nationality  equally 
exempt  from  all  contravention  of  the  Christian  economy.  I 
can  see  no  more  difficulty  in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other. 

Again,  some  say  if  we  admit  that  the  Jews  are  to  be  re- 
stored as  a  nation,  we  must  also  admit  that  they  will  occupy 
an  enviable  place  and  possess  peculiar  prerogatives,  which  it 
would  not  be  well  for  us  to  concede.  But  shall  we  bend  and 
modify  the  word  of  God  to  make  it  harmonize  with  our  whims 
and  jealousies  ?  Are  we  to  explain  away  the  positive  state- 
ments of  revelation  because  they  disagree  with  our  tastes 
and  conflict  with  our  vanity  and  pride  ?  Away  with  such 
unworthy  feelings  upon  a  subject  like  this  !  What  if  the 
Jews  shall  be  put  into  the  front  ranks  in  the  glorious  kingdom 
of  the  Son  of  David  ?  If  God  sees  fit  to  give  them  that 
place,  will  it  not  be  right  ?  They  have  not  abused  their 
original  calling  any  more  than  the  Gentile  church  has  abused 
the  gospel.  The  most  illustrious  of  the  saints  belonged  to 
the  Jewish  race.  The  adorable  Redeemer  himself  was  a  Jew. 
"  He  took  on  him  the  seed  of  Abraham."  For  more  than 
two  thousand  years  the  Hebrew  people  were  nurtured  as  God's 
own  favorites ;  and  for  all  that  time  were  the  only  people 

under  heaven  who  worshipped  the  one  living  and  true  God. 

16* 


186  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

And  had  it  not  been  for  them,  where  would  be  the  Bible  in 
which  we  glory,  or  those  glad  promises  of  life  through  which 
we  hope  ?  Then  why  murmur  and  seek  to  turn  the  point  of 
Jehovah's  prophecies,  because,  perchance,  these  descendants 
of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  may  yet  be  blest  for  their  fa- 
thers' sake  and  be  made  to  stand  high  in  the  millennial  king- 
dom ?  For  my  own  part,  I  am  heartily  willing  to  acquiesce 
in  any  arrangements  which  the  blessed  Savior  may  make  ;  and 
I  will  at  the  same  time  persist  in  holding  as  the  truth  of  God 
whatsoever  I  find  clearly  stated  in  his  holy  word,  no  matter 
where  it  may  lead  me. 

And  yet  again  it  is  said  that  the  New  Testament  is  the 
key  to  the  Old,  that  the  New  Testament  says  nothing  about 
the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  that  therefore  we  are  to  seek 
for  some  other  interpretation  of  those  Old  Testament  predic- 
tions which  seem  to  declare  it.  Now,  I  deny  that  the  New 
Testament  is  silent  on  the  subject,  and  will  presently  show  to 
the  contrary.  But,  if  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  never  once 
alluded  to  it,  I  would  still  deny  the  inference  which  the  ob- 
jector would  have  us  draw  from  such  a  fact.  The  announce- 
ments of  the  prophets  are  just  as  reliable  and  authoritative  as 
those  of  the  apostles  and  evangelists ;  and  it  is  a  mistake  to 
suppose  that,  because  we  have  the  New  Testament,  we  have 
nothing  further  to  do  with  the  Old.  The  one  is  no  less  the 
word  of  God  than  the  other.  Each  department  of  the  Scrip- 
ture has  its  own  peculiar  importance,  and  was  given  to  meet 
its  own  peculiar  emergency.  And  if  a  thing  asserted  in  one 
part,  given  for  one  purpose,  is  not  reiterated  with  equal  ex- 
plicitness  and  fullness  in  a  subsequent  part,  given  more 
directly  for  another  purpose,  to  conclude  therefrom  that 
what  was  first  asserted  is  no  longer  the  divine  intention, 
would  be  to  treat  the  immutable  Jehovah  as  a  child.  I  know 
that  the  New  Testament  contains  but  little  on  the  subject  of 
Israel's  restoration.  But  it  has  allusions  to  it,  and  encou- 


NEW   TESTAMENT   ALLUSIONS    TO   THE    SUBJECT.       187 

raging  allusions,  which  are  enough  to  show  that  God's  purpose 
in  that  direction  still  stauds. 

The  first  passage  to  which  I  refer  you  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment respecting  the  restoration  of  the  Jewish  race,  is  one 
uttered  by  the  Savior  himself,  where  he  says,  "Jerusalem 
shall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  until  the  times  of  the 
Gentiles  be  fulfilled."  Take  a  plain  common-sense  view  of 
this  passage,  and  what  does  it  mean  ?  The  treading  down  of 
Jerusalem  can  be  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  destruction 
and  desolation  of  the  Jewish  metropolis  and  state  by  the  de- 
portation of  the  Jewish  people.  And  what  is  the  cessation 
of  this  treading  down  of  the  Jewish  metropolis  and  state  but 
the  restoration  of  the  Jewish  people  ?  Who  can  make  any 
thing  else  out  of  it  ?  Commentators  have  been  wrangling 
and  racking  their  wits  for  ages  about  what  is  to  be  understood 
by  the  fulfilling  of  the  times  of  the  Gentiles;  but,  if  we 
recur  to  what  has  been  developed  in  our  preceding  inquiries, 
who  can  have  any  difficulty  with  it  ?  The  fulfilling  of  the 
times  of  the  Gentiles  is  simply  the  winding  up  of  the  affairs 
of  the  present  Gentile  church  at  Christ's  second  manifesta- 
tion,— the  day  of  judgment  to  the  Gentile  nations  and  church, 
as  Christ's  first  coming  brought  after  it  the  day  of  judgment 
to  the  old  Jewish  nation  and  church.  And  when  this  day  of 
judgment  to  the  Gentiles  comes,  and  the  period  is  fulfilled 
when  the  present  economy  of  Gentile  ascendency  is  to  be 
closed,  then  the  Savior  says,  Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down 
no  longer ;  that  is  to  say,  it  will  be  restored,  and  the  nation 
whom  it  represents,  and  whose  heart  it  was,  is  and  ever  shall 
be,  shall  again  occupy  its  ancient  place  in  more  than  its  ancient 
grandeur. 

A  second  New  Testament  passage  on  the  subject  is  that 
which  I  have  already  quoted,  where  Paul  says,  "All  Israel 
shall  be  saved,  as  it  is  written,  There  shall  come  out  of  Sion 
the  Deliverer,  and  shall  turn  away  ungodliness  from  Jacob." 


188  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

This  is  generally  understood  as  a  spiritual  salvation  by  con- 
version to  Messiah.  And  a  spiritual  deliverance  is  certainly 
a  prominent  and  controlling  idea  in  the  passage.  It  is  ex- 
pressly stated  that  one  feature  is  the  removal  of  ungodliness. 
But  this  interpretation  by  no  means  exhausts  the  passage.  It 
has  an  appendage  in  the  succeeding  verse  which  throws  much 
additional  light  and  consequence  upon  the  predicted  deliver- 
ance. Paul  says  that  this  salvation  is  just  what  was  included 
in  God's  ancient  covenant  with  the  Jewish  fathers.  "All 
Israel  shall  be  saved,  for  this  is  God's  covenant  unto  them 
u-hcn  he  shall  take  away  their  sins."  Now,  if  we  can  ascer- 
tain in  full  what  that  covenant  is,  we  will  have  in  full  what 
this  salvation  and  deliverance  includes.  We  go  back,  then, 
to  the  Old  Testament,  where  this  covenant  is  repeatedly  an- 
nounced and  recorded.  We  read  the  fifteenth  chapter  of 
Genesis.  We  there  find  that,  by  sundry  miraculous  mani- 
festations, "the  Lord  made  a  covenant  with  Abraham,  say- 
ing, Unto  thy  seed  have  I  given  this  land,  from  the  river  of 
Egypt  unto  the  great  river,  the  river  Euphrates:  the  Kenites, 
and  the  Kenizites,  and  the  Kadnionites,  and  the  Hittites,  and 
the  Perizzites,  and  the  llephaims,  and  the  Arnorites,  and  the 
Canaanites,  and  the  Girgashites,  and  the  Jebuzites."  In  the 
next  chapter  we  read  again  : — "  God  talked  with  him,  saying, 
As  for  me,  behold,  my  covenant  is  with  thee,  and  thou  shalt 
be  a  father  of  many  nations,  (or  multitudes.)  ....  And  I  will 
establish  my  covenant  between  rue  and  thec,  and  to  thy  seed 
after  thee,  in  their  generations  for  an  everlasting  covenant; 
to  be  a  God  unto  thee  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee.  And  I  will 
give  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thec,  THE  LAND  wherein 
thou  art  a  stranger,  (sojourner,)  all  the  land  of  Canaan  for 
an  everlasting  possession;  and  I  will  be  their  God."  To 
Isaac  it  was  subsequently  said,  "  Sojourn  in  this  land,  for 
unto  thee  and  unto  thy  seed  will  I  give  these  countries,  and  I 
will  perform  the  oath  which  I  sware  unto  Abraham  thy 


GOD'S    COVENANT    WITH   ISRAEL.  189 

Father."  And  so  the  dying  Jacob  testifies : — "  God  Almighty 
appeared  unto  me  and  said  unto  me,  Behold,  I  will  ....  give 
this  land  to  thy  seed  after  thec  FOR  AN  EVERLASTING  POSSES- 
SION :"  (Gen.  xlviii.) 

And  if  any  one  supposes  that  this  is  not  the  covenant  of 
which  Paul  speaks,  then  let  us  turn  to  what  God  calls  "a  new 
covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel,"  and  see  whether  the  same 
features  are  not  included.  We  read  the  latter  part  of  the 
thirty-first  of  Jeremiah.  A  glorious  spiritual  renewal  is  there 
promised.  They  shall  know  the  Lord,  and  he  will  forgive  their 
iniquity  and  remember  their  sin  no  more.  But  this  is  not  all. 
The  language  is  as  strong  as  words  and  imagery  can  make  it. 
Jehovah  points  to  the  enduring  orbs  of  immensity,  and 
declares  that  "  the  seed  of  Israel"  shall  no  more  "  cease  from 
being  a  nation  before  him  forever"  than  the  sun,  moon  and 
stars  shall  disappear  from  the  universe.  Nay,  more: — "  Behold, 
the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  the  city  shall  be  built  to 
the  Lord  from  the  tower  of  Hananecl  unto  the  gate  of  the 
corner.  It  shall  not  be  plucked  up  nor  thrown  down  ANY 
MORE  FOREVER."  This  prophecy  cannot  refer  to  the  return 
from  Babylon,  for  all  were  not'  then  converted  and  pious ;  and 
since  then  their  sin  has  been  remembered,  and  their  city 
rendered  more  awfully  desolate  than  ever  it  was  left  by 
Assyrian  kings.  Xay,  I  take  the  broad  ground,  and  no  man 
can  overturn  it,  that  God's  covenant  to  Abraham  and  his  seed' 
has  never  yet  been  even  nearly  fulfilled.  Its  great  fullness  is 
still  matter  of  promise,  to  be  verified  hereafter,  when  Christ 
shall  "  come  a  second  time  unto  salvation."  That  covenant 
charters  to  them  the  land  from  the  river  of  Egypt  to  the 
great  river  Euphrates,  for  their  everlasting  possession  ;  which 
has  never  yet  been  made  good.  That  covenant  guarantees 
unto  them  a  national  existence  and  glory  as  lasting  as  the 
great  orbs  of  heaven ;  which  yet  remains  to  be  fulfilled. 
Wherever  the  terms  of  that  covenant  are  given,  from  first  to 


190  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

last  these  are  two  of  its  prominent  and  immutable  features. 
And  if  "all  Israel  is  to  be  saved/'  according  to  that  cove- 
nant which  Paul  explicitly  declares  to  be  unchangeable, — 
"without  repentance/' — it  is  demonstrated  to  an  absolute 
certainty  that  they  will  yet  be  gathered  and  replaced  in  that 
"goodly  land  and  large"  in  which  they  dwelt  when  David 
controlled  their  triumphant  armies  and  Solomon  and  his  court 
were  the  admiration  of  the  world. 

A  third  reference  to  this  subject  in  the  New  Testament  is 
contained  in  the  first  of  Acts,  where  the  disciples  put  to  the 
Savior  their  last  question: — "Lord,  wilt  ihou  at  this  time 
restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?"  What  did  they  mean  by 
that  inquiry  ?  Every  preacher,  commentator  and  thoughtful 
Bible-reader  will  tell  you  that  the  Jews  looked  for  the  Mes- 
siah as  a  reigning  prince.  For  many  years  they  had  been  a 
dependent  and  oppressed  people.  In  the  period  of  the 
Savior's  stay  on  earth,  they  were  subject  to  the  dominion  of 
the  Caesars.  And  their  great  hope  was,  that  when  Christ 
came  he  would  judge  their  oppressors,  deliver  them  from 
their  national  dejection,  and  restore  their  state  and  kingdom  to 
former  independence  and  glory.  The  disciples  shared  in  the 
common  expectation.  Hence  their  despondency  at  his  cruci- 
fixion, saying,  "  We  trusted  that  it  had  been  he  which  should 
have  redeemed  Israel."  They  felt  all  their  fond  hopes  crushed 
in  the  Savior's  death.  But  as  soon  as  he  arose  from  the  dead 
and  reappeared  among  them,  their  old  hopes  revived,  and  they 
looked  anew  for  the  Messiah's  deliverance  of  their  nation. 
And  this  was  the  burden  of  their  question  as  here  presented. 
They  wished  to  know  if  Christ  was  then  about  to  effect  the 
expected  national  redemption,  and  "  restore  the  kingdom  to 
Israel."  The  question  then  arises,  Were  their  anticipations 
respecting  this  redemption  right  or  wrong  ?  I  maintain  that 
they  were  right.  If  they  were  not  right,  then  I  am  at  a  loss 
to  account  for  the  fact  that  these  anticipationa  retained  their 


THE    HOPE   SANCTIONED   BY   OTJR   SAVIOR.  191 

full  force  through  three  or  four  years  of  special  daily  in- 
struction from  the  Savior  himself,  and  continued  uppermost 
in  their  minds  to  the  very  last  mdment  of  Christ's  stay  upon 
earth.  Then  again,  if  they  were  all  this  while  cherishing 
erroneous  expectations  in  this  matter,  would  not  the  Savior 
have  set  them  right  now  that  he  was  at  the  point  of  leaving 
them  until  his  final  "  coming  and  kingdom"  ?  But  look  at 
his  answer.  Not  one  word  did  he  utter  against  the  views  im- 
plied in  their  question.  All  he  said  was,  "It  is  not  for  you  to 
know  the  times  and  the  seasons  which  the  Father  hath  put  in 
his  own  power."  They  did  not  ask  him  whether  he  would 
restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel ;  they  took  all  that  as  settled ; 
and  the  Savior  answered  them  upon  the  same  assumption. 
They  simply  wished  to  know  whether  that  was  the  time,  and 
the  answer  was  that  they  were  not  to  know  the  time.  As 
regards  every  thing  but  the  time,  the  reply  leaves  it  just  as  it 
was  apprehended  by  the  inquirers.  And,  taking  the  circum- 
stances and  all  together,  it  is  to  me  perfectly  conclusive  that 
it  is  the  divine  intention  to  "  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel" 
in  the  exact  sense  in  which  the  disciples  expected  it;  and 
that  the  blessed  Savior,  in  his  last  words,  meant  to  throw  his 
solemn  sanction  upon  the  hope  of  Israel's  restoration.  I  have 
no  interest  in  forcing  or  perverting  the  Scriptures  from  their 
plain  and  obvious  meaning,  and  if  I  did  not  solemnly  believe 
what  I  here  state  I  would  not  utter  it. 

A  fourth  allusion  which  the  New  Testament  contains  upon 
this  subject,  is  in  the  fifteenth  of  Acts,  where  James  says, 
"  Simeon  hath  declared  how  God  at  the  first  did  visit  the 
Gentiles,  to  take  out  of  them  a  people  for  his  name.  And  to 
this  agree  the  words  of  the  prophets,  as  it  is  written,  After 
this  I  will  return,  and  will  build  again  the  tabernacle  of 
Dai- id  which  is  fallen  down;  and  I  ic ill  build  again  the 
ruins  thereof,  and  I  will  set  it  -up :  that  the  residue  of  men 


192  THE  LAST  TIMES. 

might  seek  after  the  Lord,  and  all  the  Gentiles,  upon  whom 
my  name  is  called,  saith  the  Lord." 

Two  things  are  here  to  be  specially  noted.  The  first  is  the 
object  of  the  present  dispensation;  which  is,  to  talce  out  of 
the  Gentiles  a  people  for  God's  name.  I  have  heretofore 
shown  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  Scriptures  to  warrant  the 
hope  that  the  world  is  to  be  converted  before  Christ  comes 
the  second  time.  The  whole  object  of  the  present  economy 
is,  to  take  out  from  among  men  a  people  for  the  Lord.  This 
is  here  pointedly  declared.  But  James  goes  further.  He 
assures  us  that  it  is  the  purpose  of  God,  as  announced  by  the 
prophets,  to  return  after  the  object  of  this  dispensation  has 
been  attained,  and  then  to  "build  again  the  tabernacle  of 
David  which  is  fallen  down."  And  in  order  to  understand 
what  is  meant  by  this  rebuilding  of  David's  tabernacle,  we 
need  only  revert  to  the  original  prophecy  in  the  ninth  of  Amos, 
which  treats  of  Israel's  dispersion  for  their  sins,  and  their  re- 
demption in  the  latter  days,  "that  they  may  possess  the  rem- 
nant of  Edom,  and  of  all  the  Gentiles,  and  be  pulled  out  of 
their  land  no  more."  Surely  the  matter  is  as  plain  as  words 
can  make  it,  that,  at  the  end  of  this  dispensation,  Christ  will 
come  and  restore  the  scattered  Jews  to  their  own  land,  and 
reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever  upon  the  throne  of  his 
father  David. 

There  are  still  other  allusions  to  this  subject  in  the  New 
Testament ;  but  I  have  not  the  time  to  give  them  now.  It  is 
more  especially  in  the  Old  Testament  that  we  are  to  seek  the 
amplest  details  of  Israel's  hopes.  That  is  peculiarly  the 
gospel  of  the  Jews.  The  prophecies  there  on  record  respect- 
ing the  conversion  and  restoration  of  Jacob's  seed  may  well 
be  pronounced  by  Bishop  Newton  to  be  innumerable.  There 
is  hardly  a  chapter  from  Psalms  to  Malachi  which  does  not  in 
some  way  bear  upon  it.  To  give  all,  we  would  have  to  recite 
about  half  of  all  that  the  prophets  have  written. 


OLD   TESTAMENT   ALLUSIONS    TO    THE    SUBJECT.         193 

Let  me  refer  you  to  a  few  specimens. 

Look  at  the  text  and  its  contiguous  parts  : — "  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  :  Behold,  I  will  take  the  children  of  Israel  from  among 
the  Gentiles,  whither  they  be  gone,  and  will  gather  them  on 
every  side,  and  briny  them,  into  their  own  land."  What 
could  be  plainer  than  this  ?  It  is  useless  to  say  that  it  refers 
to  the  deliverance  from  Babylon ;  for  this  prediction  relates  to 
"the  ichole  house  of  Israel,"  whilst  only  parts  of  Judah  and 
Benjamin  ever  returned  from  the  Babylonian  captivity.  The 
restoration  here  predicted  is  to  be  attended  with  the  everlast- 
ing reunion  of  the  two  wings  of  the  great  Israelitish  schism, 
so  that  they  shall  "not  be  divided  into  two  kingdoms  any 
ruore  at  all  j"  which  to  this  day  has  not  taken  place.  This 
restoration  is  to  be  perpetual,  "forever;"  the  restoration  from 
Babylon  was  only  temporary.  This  restoration  is  to  be  at- 
tended with  the  ultimate  entire  conversion  of  the  whole 
nation,  and  an  everlasting  release  from  all  their  filthiness  and 
sins;  but  they  have  involved  themselves  deeper  in  crime 
since  they  came  back  from  Babylon  than  before,  and  even 
murdered  the  Messiah. 

Neither  will  it  answer  to  say  that  the  restoration  here  pre- 
dicted is  to  be  understood  spiritualty,  as  referring  to  the  final 
conversion  of  the  Jewish  people,  and  their  incorporation  into 
the  Christian  church.  The  church  is  no  more  their  land  than 
it  is  the  land  of  Gentile  believers.  The  prophecy  sets  forth 
their  spiritual  renovation  in  words  sufficiently  plain  to  need  no 
further  spiritualizing ;  thus  leaving  us  to  infer  that  the  other 
particulars  are  to  be  understood  in  the  same  plain  and  obvious 
sense.  The  prophecy  also  contains  a  promise  of  the  multipli- 
cation of  man  and  beast,  which  certainly  cannot  apply  to  the 
church  unless  our  sanctuaries  are  yet  to  be  filled  with  the 
brute  creation.  The  same  prophecy  promises  to  Israel  their 
old  estates, — "/  u-ill  settle  them  after  their  old  estates"— 
which,  whether  taken  in  a  spiritual  or  a  literal  sense,  necessa- 
N  17 


104  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

rily  implies  their  restoration  to  a  condition  of  isolation  and 
distinctness  from  all  other  orders  or  races  of  men.  But  this 
is  not  all.  If  the  regatherins  and  restoration  of  the  Jewish 

O  O 

people  into  their  own  land  is  to  be  understood  spiritually,  then 
their  deportation  from  that  land  and  dispersion  must  be  un- 
derstood spiritually  too.  The  one  must  correspond  to  the 
other.  The  same  prediction  contains  both  sides,  in  the  same 
strain  of  discourse;  and  the  promise  of  the  restoration  is 
founded  on  the  predicate  of  their  previous  dispersion.  Hence, 
if  the  one  is  spiritual,  the  other  is  equally  spiritual ;  and  if 
the  one  is  literal  and  outward,  so  also  must  the  other  be.  God 
himself,  speaking  upon  this  very  subject,  has  settled  this  point 
forever.  "  It  shall  come  to  pass,  that  LIKE  AS  I  have  watched 
over  them  to  pluck  up,  and  to  break  down,  and  to  destroy, 
and  to  afflict ;  so  will  I  watch  over  them  to  build,  and  to 
plant,  saith  the  Lord :"  (Jer.  xxxi.  28.)  Here,  then,  I  take 
my  stand  with  unflinching  firmness,  and  upon  the  immutable 
basis  of  God's  own  word,  demand  of  you  either  to  show  that 
the  spoiling  was  only  spiritual,  or  else  admit  that  their  final 
restoration  is  to  be  national  and  literal.  If  Titus  only  took 
the  church,  and  not  the  literal  city, — if  he  only  cast  the  Jews 
out  of  the  church,  and  did  not  kill  them  or  carry  them  away 
captives, — if  he  did  not  devastate  and  depopulate  Palestine, 
but  only  intercepted  God's  spiritual  blessings  by  desolating 
the  ways  to  eternal  life, — then,  but  only  then,  can  this  pro- 
mised regathering  of  Israel  into  their  own  land  be  interpreted 
so  as  to  preclude  their  national  restoration.  "/  will  gather 
them,"  saith  God,  "and  briny  them  into  their  own  land." 

The  same  literal  restoration  of  the  exiled  descendants  of 
Jacob  is  foretold  by  Moses,  in  his  farewell  address  to  that 
people.  "VVe  there  have  a  graphic  delineation  of  the  whole 
history  of  Israel  up  to  the  present  and  still  future  times. 
Moses  there  foretells  a  sore  and  wide  dispersion ;  but  he  pre- 
dicts with  equal  explicitness  a  final  and  complete  recoveiy 


THE    PROPHECY    IN    ISAIAH    XI.  195 

from  it.  "The  Lord  thy  God  will  turn  thy  captivity,  and 
have  compassion  upon  thee,  and  will  gather  thee  from  all  the 
nations  whither  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  scattered  thee.  If  any 
of  thine  be  driven  out  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  heaven,  from 
thence  will  the  Lord  thy  God  FETCH  THEE  :  and  the  Lord  thy 
God  will  briny  thee  into  THE  LAND  WHICH  THY  FATHER  POS- 
SESSED, AND  THOU  SHALT  POSSESS  IT  :  and  he  will  multiply 
thee  above  thy  fathers:"  (Deut.  xxx.)  Never,  to  this  day, 
has  there  occurred  to  Israel  such  a  deliverance,  from  such  a 
dispersion.  And  the  idea  that  this  prediction  is  to  be  fulfilled 
by. the  simple  incorporation  of  the  Jews  into  the  existing 
church,  is  worse  than  ridiculous.  They  are,  therefore,  to  be 
restored. 

Isaiah,  also,  has  spoken  most  pointedly  upon  this  subject. 
In  his  eleventh  chapter  we  have  a  glowing  prophecy,  which 
all  treat  as  referring  to  the  millennial  times.  And  in  that 
prophecy  we  find  it  written,  "  It  shall  come  to  pass  IN  THAT 
DAY,  that  the  Lord  shall  set  his  hand  again,  THE  SECOND 
TIME,  to  recover  the  remnant  of  his  people  which  shall  be  left 
from  Assyria,  and  from  Egypt,  and  from  Pathros,  and  from 
Cush,  and  from  Elam,  and  from  Shinar,  and  from  Hamath, 
and  from  the  isles  of  the  sea,  and  he  shall  set  up  an  ensign 
for  the  nations,  and  shall  assemble  the  outcasts  of  Israel,  and 
gather  together  the  dispersed  of  Judah" — the  whole  Jewish 

race — "from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth And  there 

shall  be  an  highway  for  the  remnant  of  his  people  which  shall 
be  left  from  Assyria;  LIKE  AS  IT  WAS  TO  ISRAEL  IN  THE 

DAY  THAT  HE  CAME  UP  OUT  OF  THE  LAND  OF  EGYPT."     Will 

any  man  say  that  such  a  prophecy  as  this  has  ever  been  ful- 
filled, or  includes  no  more  than  the  conversion  of  the  Jews  to 
Christianity?  Was  the  deliverance  from  Egypt  a  mere  join- 
ing of  the  church  ?  Yet  here  we  have  God's  solemn  promise 
a  second  time  to  recover  the  remnant  of  his  people,  to  gather 
Israel  and  Judah  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  and  to 


196  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

provide  a  way  for  them,  "H7ee  as  it  was  to  Israel  in  the  day 
that  he  came  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt." 

Brethren,  what  you  think  of  these  things,  I  know  not ;  but 
I  am  fully  persuaded  that  it  is  God's  immutable  purpose  to 
bring  back  the  Jewish  race  to  its  ancient  home.  The  passages 
which  I  have  given  more  than  prove  it ;  whilst  the  great  mass 
of  prophecy  upon  the  suBject  has  not  been  touched.  And  if 
even  all  these  solemn  statements  of  God  were  to  pass  for  no- 
thing, the  simple  but  significant  facts  of  history  furnish  ground 
enough  upon  which  to  infer  that  Israel  is  yet  to  be  restored 
to  that  land  where  Abraham  lived  and  the  Savior  died. 

Look  at  that  wonderful  race  !  For  nearly  two  thousand 
years,  scattered  all  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  oppressed,  de- 
spised, persecuted,  unmercifully  butchered ;  yet  still  existing, 
as  distinct  in  manners,  feelings  and  hopes,  as  when  Moses  was 
their  leader  and  Aaron  was  their  priest.  Since  God  shook 
them  out  of  their  ancient  dwelling-places,  nations,  thrones, 
kingdoms,  have  risen,  flourished,  fallen,  and  lost  their  proud 
subjects  in  the  ever- varying  stream  of  human  affairs;  but 
Israel  still  stands  apart,  unshaken  by  earth's  mutations,  with 
the  accents  of  David  and  Isaiah  still  on  that  people's  lips,  and 
still  looking  for  the  promised  Shiloh  to  take  them  back  in 
triumph  to  their  father-land.  The  Christian  church  herself, 
glorious  as  she  is  in  her  list  of  martyrs  and  attirements  of 
grace  and  truth,  has,  since  then,  been  depressed,  diminished, 
enfeebled,  by  violence  and  defections  which  she  has  found  it 
hard  to  survive ;  but  the  house  of  Jacob,  with  all  their  wrongs 
and  spoliations,  have  only  strengthened  with  their  trials,  whilst 
all  the  bitterness  of  their  great  cup  of  sorrow  has  never  made 
them  forget  that  they  were  Hebrews,  or  loosened  the  tenacity 
with  which  they  cling  to  God's  peculiar  covenant  unto  them. 
Kings  have  issued  severe  edicts  and  commissioned  bloody  exe- 
cutioners against  them,  and  the  seditious  and  spiteful  multi- 
tudes have  afflicted  them  with  outrages  still  more  violent  and 


JERUSALEM.  197 

tragical.  Princes  and  people,  civil ized  and  savage,  Pagans, 
Mahometans,  and  professing  Christians,  disagreeing  in  so 
many  things,-  have  more  than  once  made  common  cause  for 
their  extermination.  But  still  they  live  and  thrive.  Though 
for  nearly  twenty  centuries  without  a  temple,  prophet,  king, 
country,  or  home,  they  still  bear  the  same  marks  which  cha- 
racterized them  before  Vespasian  se' t  foot  on  their  sacred  land 
or  Titus  invested  their  loved  Jerusalem. 

Look,  again,  at  their  holy  city.  "  Captured,  ravaged,  burnt, 
razed  to  the  foundation,  dispeopled,  its  deported  citizens  sold 
into  slavery,  and  forbidden  by  severest  penalties  to  visit  their 
native  seats ;"  yet,  even  in  its  mournful  desolations,  it  stands 
forth,  a  thing  to  itself,  and  altogether  distinguished  from  all 
other  ruins.  Who  now  weeps  over  the  fall  of  Troy?  What 
people  pays  pilgrimages  of  devotion  to  the  ruin-piles  of  mighty 
Nineveh  or  Babylon?  These  great  monuments  of  human 
pride  and  glory  sleep  their  last  sleep,  and  no  tear  falls  upon 
their  unhonored  graves.  But  Jerusalem,  even  in  her  ashes, 
is  still  dear  to  the  hearts  of  millions,  and  the  mere  mention  of 
that  name  awakens  pangs  of  mingled  grief  and  hope  as  deep 
as  those  that  weighed  upon  her  captive  sons  when  they 
mourned  under  the  willows  by  Babel's  waters.  Beautifully 
has  it  been  said,  that  "ever  and  anon,  and  from  all  the  winds 
of  heaven,  Zion's  exiled  children  come  to  visit  her,  and,  with 
eyes  weeping  sore,  bewail  her  widowhood.  No  city  was  ever 
honored  thus.  None  else  thus  receives  pilgrimages  from  the 
fiftieth  generation  of  its  outcast  population.  None  but  this, 
after  centuries  of  such  dispersion,  could,  at  the  first  call, 
gather  beneath  its  wings  the  whole  of  its  wide-wandering 
family.  None  but  this  has  possessed  a  spell  sufficient  to  keep 
its  people  still  distinct,  even  in  remotest  regions,  and  in  the 
face  of  the  mightiest  inducements.  And  none  but  itself  can 
now  be  repeopled  with  precisely  the  same  race  which  left  it 
nearly  two  thousand  years  ago." 

17* 


198  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

Now,  what  mean  these  anomalous,  I  might  say,  miraculous, 
facts  ?  Why  are  the  Jewish  people  still  distinct,  and  Jeru- 
salem's walls  still  dear,  as  ever?  Why  have  Jacob's  seed 
always  refused  to  hold  lands  anywhere  but  in  Palestine,  and 
Jerusalem  always  refused  to  give  permanent  habitation  to  any 
but  them  ?  Meet  a  Jew  where  you  will,  he  is  a  mere  wanderer 
or  sojourner,  ready  to  move  at  the  shortest  warning.  Scat- 
tered over  all  lands  beneath  the  sun,  he  has  never  taken  root 
in  any.  And  of  all  that  have  ever  tried  to  fix  themselves  in 
the  Holy  Land, — Romans  and  Persians,  Saracens  and  Turks, 
Egyptian  Caliphs  and  Latin  Christians,  Mamelukes  and  Ot- 
tomans,— none  have  ever  been  able  to  gain  a  permanent  foot- 
hold in  it.  WHY  is  ALL  THIS?  Men  of  political  science 
may  try  their  skill  at  explanation ;  but,  after  all,  the  problem 
will  reduce  itself  to  this  :  that  God  has  his  own  settled  purpose 
with  this  people  and  this  place,  holding  the  one  in  reserve  for 
the  other  until  each  shall  be  forever  satisfied  with  its  own. 
Here,  history  is  prophecy.  And  if  all  the  holy  seers  were 
silent,  the  very  stones  themselves  cry  out  for  Israel's  restora- 
tion. The  rocks  of  Palestine  will  have  no  lord  but  Jacob. 

I  am,  therefore,  prepared  to  adopt  the  statement  of  David 
N.  Lord,  one  of  the  most  profound  and  able  living  expositors 
of  sacred  prophecy,  that  "  those  who  assent  to  the  true  laws 
of  language  and  symbols  will  no  more  deny  or  doubt  that  the 
prophecies  teach  that  the  Israelites  are  to  be  restored,  than 
those  who  assent  to  the  definitions  and  axioms  of  geometry 
will  deny  the  demonstrations  that  are  founded  on  them.  There 
is  not  a  proposition  in  the  whole  circle  of  human  knowledge 
of  more  perfect  certainty  than  that  God  has  revealed  the  pur- 
pose of  regathering  that  scattered  nation,  establishing  them  as 
his  chosen  people,  and  reappointing  a  temple-worship  at  Jeru- 
salem that  is  to  embrace  some  of  their  ancient  rites.  It  is 
not  merely  certain,  but  is  taught  with  a  frequency,  an  em- 
phasis and  an  amplitude,  and  invested  with  a  dignity  and 


HOW   THE   JEWISH   RESTORATION   WILL   BEGIN.        199 

grandeur  tbat  are  proportionable  to  the  vastness  and  wonder- 
fulness  of  the  measure  in  the  great  scheme  of  his  administra- 
tion over  the  world."  The  descendants  of  Jacob  are  specifi- 
cally, and  in  many  places,  spoken  of  as  the  subjects  of  a  long 
and  painful  dispersion  and  depression,  which  we  see  literally 
verified  before  our  eyes.  The  same  passages,  with  the  same 
cxplicitness,  affirm  of  this  same  people,  that  they  shall  be  de- 
livered from  their  oppressions,  regathered  from  their  disper- 
sions, restored  to  the  land  which  their  fathers  possessed,  and 
forever  secured  against  any  similar  calamity.  The  countries 
from  which  they  are  to  come;  the  manner  in  which  they  are 
to  come ;  the  very  methods  of  their  conveyance,  on  horses, 
and  mules,  and  dromedaries,  in  chariots,  in  litters,  and  in 
ships,  and  in  swift-moving  vehicles,  which  some  have  taken  as 
a  description  of  railroads ;  all  are  specifically  noted.  And  how 
any  student  of  these  things  can  rise  up  and  say  that  the  doc- 
trine of  Israel's  restoration  is  a  fable,  I  cannot  understand. 

The  return  of  this  wonderful  people  will  doubtless  begin,  in 
a  small  way,  under  what  some  will  call  the  natural  course  of 
things.  There  are  even  now  already  thousands  of  Jews  in 
Jerusalem  and  its  vicinity.  A  goodly  portion  of  the  Holy 
Land  is  at  this  moment  under  mortgages  in  the  hands  of  those 
rich  Jewish  bankers,  the  Rothschilds,  of  Europe.  The  effects 
of  the  peace  just  concluded  between  the  great  powers  of  the 
Old  World,  in  securing  toleration  of  other  religions  under 
the  Turkish  laws,  is  at  once  the  signal  for  the  downfall  of  the 
Ottoman  empire,  and  the  opening  of  the  door  for  Israel's 
return.  Many  religious  associations  in  all  parts  of  Protestant 
Christendom  are  in  efficient  operation  with  and  for  the  Jews, 
all  looking  more  or  less  to  their  ultimate  restoration.  These 
things,  all  working  in  the  line  of  Israel's  intense  desires,  can- 
not but  work  mighty  consequences.  They  are  the  prelimina- 
ries of  the  second  Jewish  exodus. 

But  it  is  not  by  these  alone  that  Israel  shall  be  redeemed. 


200  THE    LAST    TIMES. 

According  to  the  eighteenth  of  Isaiah,  and  other  passages,  there 
will  yet  be  great  national  movements  upon  the  subject.  We 
there  read  of  a  great  maritime  power,  spreading  wide  its 
wings,  existing  somewhere  in  the  Far  West  from  Palestine,  and 
which  must  either  be  the  United  States,  Great  Britain,  or 
perhaps  both,  as  one  in  religion,  language  and  laws.  This 
power,  accustomed  to  send  messengers  by  sea,  is  to  become 
interested  in  behalf  of  the  Jews,  and  to  aid  them  with  con- 
tributions, embassies,  treaty-stipulations,  fleets  and  other 
ways.  The  prophet  himself  calls  to  this  power,  (I  use 
Horseley's  translation,)  "  Ho !  land  spreading  wide  the  shadow 
of  thy  wings  !"  and  he  gives  it  its  commission,  "  Go ;"  which 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  it  will  be  from  the  study  of  pro- 
phecy, and  from  the  will  of  God  as  thus  presented,  that  men 
shall  be  roused  up  to  this  work.  "  Go,  as  a  swift  messenger, 
to  a  people  wonderful  from  the  beginning  hitherto,  a  nation 
expecting,  expecting,  and  trampled  under  foot,  whose  laud 
rivers  (invading  armies)  have  spoiled ;  and  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  world,  and  dwellers  upon  earth)  shall  see  the  lifting 
up,  as  it  were,  of  a  banner  upon  the  mountains  ;  and  shall  hear 
the  sounding,  as  it  were,  of  a  trumpet."  That  is,  as  I  under- 
stand it,  when  these  movements  in  favor  of  the  Jews  begin, 
there  will  be  an  extraordinary  waking  up  upon  the  subject, 
and  a  very  deep  interest  felt,  so  that  men  generally  will  regard 
themselves  as  specially  called  to  help  in  the  great  work.  And 
it  is  a  singular  fact,  in  this  connection,  that  the  United  States 
government,  without  any  assignable  cause  for  it,  did,  only  a 
few  years  ago,  send  out  Lieut.  Lynch  and  his  party,  to  explore 
the  Jordan  and  obtain  detailed  and  authentic  descriptions 
of  the  condition  and  topography  of  Israel's  land.  England 
has  done  the  same,  as  if  these  countries,  so  closely  allied  in  so 
many  particulars,  were  already  laying  the  foundations  for  their 
work  and  mission  in  bringing  back  the  dispersed  children  of 
Abraham. 


PROPHETIC    DESCRIPTIONS    OF    THE   RESTORATION.     201 

But  I  have  no  expectation  that  any  thing  very  decisive  or 
extraordinary  will  occur  in  the  line  of  the  Jewish  restoration, 
until  God's  judgments  shall  begin  to  tear  asunder  the  nations. 
There  is  first  to  be  a  "pruning,"  "  a  taking  away  of  luxuriant 
branches,"  "a  leaving  to  the  mountain-birds  of  prey;"  and 
only  "at  that  season  a  present  shall  be  led  to  Jehovah  of 
hosts,  of  a  people  dragged  aicay  and  plucked  ;  even  of  a  people 
wonderful  from  their  beginning  hitherto;  a  nation  expecting, 
expecting,  and  trampled  under  foot,  whose  land  rivers  have, 
spoiled,  unto  the  place  of  the  name  of  Jehovah  of  hosts, 
Mount  Zion :"  (Isa.  xviii.  7.)  When  the  "  distress  of 
nations  with  perplexity"  shall  have  fully  set  in,  and  the  day 
of  earth's  troubles  has  come,  then  the  people  of  Israel  shall 
flock  home,  like  doves  to  their  windows ;  and  the  Lord  himself 
shall  show  wonders  in  their  favor,  like  to  the  day  that  he 
brought  them  up  out  of  Egypt.  The  last  chapter  of  Isaiah 
tells  of  manifestations  of  divine  power,  mercy  and  consolation, 
and  says,  "  When  ye  see  this,  your  heart  shall  rejoice,  and 
your  bones  shall  flourish  like  an  herb;  and  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  known-  toward  his  servants,  and  his  indig- 
nation toward  his  enemies.  For  behold,  the  Lord  will  come 
with  fire,  and  his  chariots  like  a  whirlwind;  to  render  his 
anger  with  fury,  and  his  rebuke  with  flames  of  fire.  For  by 
fire  and  by  his  sword  will  the  Lord  plead  with  all  flesh,  and 
the  slain  of  the  Lord  shall  be  many.  .  .  .  And  I  will  set  up  a 
sign  among  them,  and  I  WILL  SEND  THOSE  THAT  ESCAPE 
OP  THEM  UNTO  THE  NATIONS,  to  Tarshish,  Pul,  and  Lud, 
that  draw  the  bow,  to  Tubal  and  Javan,  to  the  isles  afar  off, 
that  have  not  heard  my  fame,  neither  seen  my  glory ;  and 
they  (that  escape  God's  terrific  judgment  upon  Israel's 
enemies}  shall  declare  my  glory  among  the  Gentiles;  AND 
THEY  (THE  GENTILES)  SHALL  BRING  ALL  YOUR  BRETHREN 
(the  prophet's  brethren,  THE  JEWS)  for  an  offering  unto  the 
Lord  out  of  all  nations,  upon  horses,  and  in  chariots,  and  in 


202  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

coaches,   and   upon   mules,   and  upon   swift   beasts,    (rapid 
vehicles,)  to  my  holy  mountain  Jerusalem,  saitli  the  Lord." 

The  accompaniments  and  great  results  of  this  final  resto- 
ration of  the  Jewish  people  are  so  wonderful  and  miraculous, 
that  it  is  hardly  possible  for  us  to  form  a  proper  conception  of 
them.  Within  fifty  years  from  this  present  time,  perhaps  the 
whole  story  will  be  told.  One  thing  is  certain,  that  Israel's 
restoration  is  not  for  Israel  alone,  but  for  the  whole  world.  It 
is  one  of  those  means,  in  the  wonderful  arrangements  of  God, 
for  letting  forth  his  mercy  and  salvation  upon  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  earth.  It  is  in  the  seed  of  Abraham  that  all 
nations  shall  be  blessed.  Israel's  restoration  shall  be  the 
world's  resurrection.  Paul  says,  "  If  the  fall  of  them  be  the 
riches  of  the  world,  and  the  diminishing  of  them  the  riches 
of  the  Gentiles,  how  much  more  their  fullness  ?  If  the 
casting  away  of  them  be  the  reconciling  of  the  world,  what 
shall  the  receiving  of  them  be,  but  life  from  the  dead?" 
(Eom.  xi.  12, 15.)  This  return  will  itself  be  a  fulfillment  of 
prophecy  so  startling  that  it  will  open  men's  eyes  as  they 
never  have  been  opened,  and  make  them  feel  the  power  of 
divine  truth  and  the  reality  of  Jehovah's  sovereignty  as  they 
never  have  felt  them.  The  Bible  will  suddenly  become  a  new 
book,  and  beam  forth  a  new  light  and  speak  with  a  more 
potent  authority.  In  the  language  of  Hamilton,  "The 
moment  the  vail  is  rent  from  Israel's  eyes,  the  vail  will 
be  rent  from  a  thousand  prophecies ;  and,  read  in  the  light 
of  restored  and  regenerated  Judah,  the  word  of  God  will 
sparkle  with  unwonted  coruscations,  and,  like  deep-colored 
gems  that  look  dusty  in  cloud-light,  many  of  its  dark  sayings 
will  brighten  up  into  its  divinest  truths  when  the  beams 
break  forth  from  Salem." 

The  thorough  cleansing  and  renewal  which  will  pass  upon 
the  Jewish  people,  and  God's  wonderful  manifestations  in 


JERUSALEM'S  COMING  GREATNESS.  203 

their  behalf,  shall  speak  like  a  new  revelation  to  the  hearts 
and  consciences  of  men ;  and  "  many  people,  and  strong 
nations,  shall  come  to  seek  the  Lord  of  hosts  in  Jerusalem, 
and  to  pray  before  the  Lord ;  and  ten  men  out  of  all  languages 
of  the  nations  shall  take  hold  of  the  skirt  of  him  that  is  a 
Jew,  saying,  "  We  will  go  with  you,  for  we  have  heard  that 
God  is  with  you :"  (Zech.  viii.  12.)  All  Israel  shall  then 
own  the  Messiah,  and  be  fully  and  forever  converted  unto 
him,  not  by  the  slow  processes  of  present  evangelization,  but 
by  wonderful  manifestations  from  God,  as  in  the  case  of  Paul, 
their  distinguished  type:  (1  Tim.  i.  16.)  Noble  saintship 
and  Davidic  zeal  shall  again  be  found  in  Judah.  "He  that  is 
feeble  among  them  shall  be  as  David ;  and  the  house  of  David 
shall  be  as  Elohim,  the  Jehovah  angel,  before  them  :"  (Zech. 
xii.  8.)  The  times  of  the  Gentiles  being  fulfilled,  Jacob's 
trouble  shall  be  over  and  the  grand  Sabbath  of  the  world 
begin.  Christ  shall  sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  father  David, 
and  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever;  and  "they  shall 
call  Jerusalem  the  throne  of  the  Lord."  According  to  "the 
word  that  Isaiah  the  son  of  Amoz  saw,"  not  concerning  the 
church,  but  CONCERNING  JUDAH  AND  JERUSALEM,  "the 
mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established  in  the  top 
of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills,  and  all 
nations  shall  flow  unto  it.  And  many  people  shall  go  and  say, 
Come  ye,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  to 
the  hou^  of  the  God  of  Jacob,  and  he  will  teach  us  of  his 
ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  his  paths ;  for  out  of  Zion  shall  go 
forth  the  law,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem :" 
(Isa.  ii.  1-3.)  "'AND  THE  LORD  SHALL  BE  KING  OVER  ALL 
THE  EARTH  :"  (Zech.  xiv.  8.)  This  world  shall  then  have 
embraced  its  rightful  Sovereign,  and  the  hearts  of  its  great 
nations  shall  beat  in  unison  with  heaven. 

Nor  need  you  be  surprised,  my  brethren,  when,  in  the  light 
of  these  prophecies,  I  declare  the  conviction  that  Jerusalem 


204  THE    LAST    TIMES. 

is  yet  to  become  the  metropolis  of  the  world,  just  as  it  was 
the  metropolis  of  Judea  in  the  days  of  Solomon.  All  the 
nations  of  this  world  are  yet  to  come  under  one  universal 
government, — the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  his  glorified  saints. 
"  God  hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  that  is 
above  every  name ;  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  and  every  tongue  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
Lord:"  (Phil.  ii.  10.)  "Now  we  see  not  yet  all  tilings  put 
under  him :"  (Heb.  ii.  8.)  But  "He  must  reign  until  he 
hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet:"  (1  Cor.  xv.  25.)  "The 
Gentiles  must  be  given  him  as  his  inheritance,  and  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession  :"  (Ps.  ii.  8.)  He 
has  declared  himself  to  be  appointed  King  of  the  Jews,  and 
Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth :  (Matt,  xxvii.  11 ;  Rev.  i. 
5.)  "  The  kingdoms  of  the  world  are  to  become  the  kingdoms 
of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ ;  and  he  shall  reign  forever  and 
ever:"  (Rev.  xi.  15.)  And  the  centre  and  seat  of  this  great 
kingdom  is  JERUSALEM.  "  The  Lord  of  hosts  shall  reign" — 
where? — "IN  MOUNT  ZION,  AND  IN  JERUSALEM,  and  before 
his  ancients  gloriously  :"  (Isa.  xxiv.  23.)  "  The  Lord  also  shall 
roar" — from,  whence  ? — "  out  of  Zion,  and  utter  his  voice 
FROM  JERUSALEM,  and  the  heavens  and  the  earth  shall  shake; 
but  the  Lord  will  be  the  hope  of  his  people,  and  the  strength 
of  the  children  of  Israel.  So  shall  ye  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord  your  God,  DWELLING  IN  ZION,  my  holy  mountain  :  then 
shall  Jerusalem  be  holy :"  (Joel  iii.  16,  17.)  Nay^as  there 
is  to  be  a  literal  reign  of  the  Son  of  man  on  earth,  where  is  it 
most  likely  that  his  imperial  seat  will  be  ?  What  locality  does 
the  mind  most  naturally  turn  to  ?  The  holy  associations  and 
the  very  geographical  position  of  Palestine  mark  it  out  with 
signal  felicity  as  the  place  where  the  Son  of  Mary  shall  hold  his 
sublime  court.  As  remarked  by  one  who  has  looked  carefully 
at  the  matter,  "Palestine  is  so  remarkably  situated,  that  it 
forms  the  bridge  between  two  continents  and  a  gateway  to  a 


IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  LAND.         205 

third.  Were  the  population  and  wealth  of  Europe,  Asia  and 
Africa  condensed  into  single  points,  Palestine  would  be  the 
centre  of  their  common  gravity.  And  with  the  amazing 
facilities  of  modern  intercourse,  and  the  prodigious  extent  of 
modern  traffic,  it  is  not  easy  to  estimate  the  commercial 
grandeur  to  which  a  kingdom  may  attain,  planted  as  it  were 
on  the  very  apex  of  the  old  world,  with  its  three  continents 
spreading  out  beneath  its  feet,  and  with  the  Ked  Sea  on  one 
side  to  bring  it  all  the  golden  treasures  and  spicy  harvests  of 
the  East,  and  the  Mediterranean  floating  in  on  the  other  side 
all  the  skill  and  enterprise  and  knowledge  of  the  West. 
For  the  sake  of  higher  ends  it  seems  the  purpose  of  God  to 
make  the  Holy  Land  a  mart  of  nations,  and,  by  bringing  the 
forces  of  the  Gentiles  to  Jerusalem,  to  send  the  blessing  of 
Abraham  over  all  the  earth." 

It  is  also  well  known  that  ever  since  the  Jews  first  entered 
Canaan,  it  has  been  the  battle-ground  of  nations.  To  this 
hour  it  is  mixed  up  with  the  mightiest  disputes  that  disturb 
the  world.  The  Assyrian,  the  Egyptian  and  the  Roman  of 
old,  the  Arab,  the  Turk,  the  Greek,  the  Papist  and  the 
Rabbi  of  our  times,  all  have  claimed  it  as  if  the  earth  con- 
tained not  another  prize  like  it.  The  late  war,  which  converted 
the  Crimea  into  a  Golgotha  and  made  the  world  tremble,  had 
its  beginning  in  Jerusalem,  in  disputes  and  altercations  about 
its  shrines  and  holy  places.  And  the  history  of  the  world  is 
filled  with  illustrations  of  the  desirableness  that  has  ever 
adhered  to  that  "  goodly  land,"  and  of  the  interests  involved 
in  its  occupation.  Ages  have  rolled  around  it  as  the  spot  of 
decision  on  which  the  question  of  supremacy  is  suspended. 
And  divine  prophecy,  sounding  through  the  long  galleries  of 
centuries,  proclaims  the  fact  that  all  the  nations  shall  yet  be 
governed  from  that  point. 

Men  may  think  I  dream,  but  I  must  take  God's  word  as 
meaning  what  it  says.  The  ch;y  is  coming  when  the  world 

18 


200  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

shall  join  in  that  clad  song  of  David,  "Beautiful  for  situation, 
the  joy  of  the  ichole  earth,  is  Mount  Zion,  THE  CITY  OF  THE 
GREAT  KING  !"  That  wonderful  people,  the  scattered  relics 
of  a  mighty  nation,  shall  come  back  to  their  ancient  home. 
From  the  Xorth  and  the  South,  from  the  East  and  the  West, 
they  shall  come  with  singing  unto  Zion.  "And  they  shall 
build  the  waste. cities,  and  inhabit  them;  and  they  shall  plant 
vineyards,  and  drink  the  wine  thereof;  and  they  shall  no  more 
be  pulled  out  of  their  laud  which  I  have  given  them,  saith  the 
Lord :"  (Amos  ix.  14, 15.)  Jehovah  Elohini  shall  come  down 
again,  more  glorious  than  when  of  old  he  dwelt  in  cloud  and 
flame  in  the  Holy  of  Holies,  even  Jesus  in  his  own  glorified 
humanity;  and  they  shall  say,  "Lo!  this  is  our  God!  we  have 
icaited  for  him,  and  he  will  save  us:  this  is  the  Lord  ;  ice  have 
waited  for  him,  we  icill  be  glad  and  rejoice  in  his  salvation :" 
(Isa.  xxv.  9.)  Jerusalem's  light  shall  then  have  come  and 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  have  risen  upon  her,  and  she  shall 
arise  and  shine.  Gentiles  shall  come  to  her  light,  and  kings 
to  the  brightness  of  her  rising.  Her  sons  shall  come  from 
far,  and  her  daughters  shall  be  nursed  at  her  side.  The 
abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be  turned  to  her,  and  the  wealth 
of  the  Gentiles  shall  come  unto  her.  The  multitude  of 
camels  shall  come  up, — the  dromedaries  of  Midian  and  Ephah; 
all  they  from  Sheba  shall  come;  they  shall  bring  gold  and  in- 
cense, and  they  shall  show  forth  the  praises  of  the  Lord.  All 
the  flocks  of  Kedar  shall  be  gathered  together  unto  her.  The 
rams  of  Xebaioth  shall  minister  unto  her;  they  shall  come  up 
with  acceptance  on  God's  altar,  and  he  will  glorify  the  house  of 
his  glory.  The  nation  and  kingdom  that  will  not  serve  her 
shall  perish,  and  be  utterly  wasted.  The  glory  of  Lebanon 
shall  come  unto  her,  the  fir-tree,  the  pine-tree,  and  the  box 
together,  to  beautify  the  place  of  God's  sanctuary;  and  he  will 
make  the  place  of  his  feet  glorious.  The  sons  of  them  that 
afflicted  her  shall  como  bending  unto  her,  and  all  they  that 


THE  EARTHLY  AND  THE  HEAVENLY  CITY.     207 

despised  her  shall  bow  themselves  down  at  the  soles  of  her 
feet ;  and  they  shall  call  her,  "  THE  CITY  or  THE  LORD,  THE 
Ziox  OP  THE  HOLY  OXE  OF  ISRAEL!''  (Isa.  k.  14.) 

But  Jerusalem  below,  radiant  in  all  its  untold  glory,  shall 
be  but  a  type  and  earthy  picture  of  the  higher  and  subliiner 
Jerusalem  that  is  above, — that  firmly-founded  city  for  which 
Abraham  looked,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God, — that,  city 
which  John  saw  "  descending  out  of  heaven  from  God,  having 
the  glory  of  God,  and  her  light  like  unto  a  stone  most  precious, 
even  like  a  jasper-stone,  clear  as  crystal."  The  one  is  earthly, 
the  other  is  heavenly.  The  one  is  built  by  human  hands,  the 
other  is  the  workmanship  of  God  himself.  The  one  has  a 
population  composed  of  men  holy  and  happy,  but  men  in  the 
flesh;  the  other  is  the  glorious  residence  of  the  glorified  saints. 
The  one  shall  rest  upon  the  earthly  mount;  the  other  shall  be 
above  the  mountains  and  the  hills."  The  one  will  need  clouds 
and  rain,  sunshine  and  peaceful  night ;  the  other  has  no  need 
of  the  sun  nor  of  the  moon  to  shine  in  it,  for  the  glory  of 
God  shall  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof.  The 
one  shall  have  its  temple  and  its  altars;  the  other  has  no  tem- 
ple therein,  for  the  Lord  God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the 
temple  of  it.  And  whilst  the  sons  of  Abraham  in  the  flesh 
shall  possess  Jerusalem  that  is  below,  the  sons  of  Abraham  by 
faith  in  Christ,  who  have  come  out  of  great  tribulation,  and 
washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  shall,  in  their  glorification,  have  their  everlasting  bliss 
and  home  in  "  the  Jerusalem  that  is  above."  The  relation  of 
the  one  to  the  other  is  like  that  of  the  Sanctuary  to  the  Holy 
of  Holies.  The  one  is  the  metropolis  of  the  "new  earth;" 
the  other  is  the  "  new  heavens."  The  one  is  suspended  in  the 
clouds  to  pour  its  radiance  on  the  saved  nations  below :  (Rev. 
xxi.  24 ;)  but  both  belong  to  the  one  sublime  and  wonderful 
economy  which  is  to  encompass  this  planet  when  once  its 
redemption  is  complete. 


208  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

All  hail  to  the  day  when  these  things  shall  be  fulfilled ! 
The  cross  shall  then  give  place  to  the  crown,  and  gladness 
supplant  our  sighing  and  tears.  Hope  shall  then  change  into 
fruition,  and  the  exile  reach  his  eternal  home.  Oh,  let  us 
rejoice  and  give  thanks  that  such  promises  have  been  left  us. 
Let  us  stay  ourselves  upon  them  and  feed  upon  their  precious- 
ness.  They  are  "  well-ordered  and  sure,"  and  cannot  dis- 
appoint us.  They  are  all  as  immutable  and  abiding  as  God's 
own  eternal  nature.  Time  may  intervene  and  great  changes 
may  occur  before  they  are  fulfilled;  but,  as  Jehovah  lives,  if 
we  are  Christ's  we  shall  be  glorified  with  him  and  dwell  in  the 
city  he  has  prepared. 

"  Jerusalem  !  Jerusalem ! 

Name  ever  dear  to  me, 
Would  God  my  woes  were  at  an  end, 
That  I  thy  joys  might  see  !" 


NINTH  DISCOURSE. 


THE    WORLD    TO    COME IT.T.f STTCATm    INT    THE    SCENES     OF    THE    TRANS- 

FIGUUATIOX THE     BLESSEDNESS    OF    (JURIST'S    PERSONAL    PRESENCE 

THE    MINISTRATIONS     OF     THE    GLORIFIED     SAINTS THE     ABSENCE 

OF    ALL     POWERS     AND    AGENCIES     OF    EVIL THE    BLESSING    OF    THE 

WORLD    THROUGH    ISRAEL THE    CURSE    REPEALED. 


HEB.  ii.  5  :   The  world  to  come,  icliereof  we  speak. 

THESE  words  occur  in  connection  with  the  apostle's  en- 
deavor to  impress  his  Jewish  brethren  with  a  sense  of  the 
greatness  and  glory  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  of  the  salvation 
which  is  preached  in  his  name.  He  begins  the  epistle  by 
announcing  the  Savior  to  them  as  the  Son  of  God, — the  ap- 
pointed heir  of  all  things, — the  Maker  and  upholder  of  the 
worlds, — the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory  and  the  express 
image  of  his  person,  who  has  been  exalted  to  the  right  hand 
of  the  Majesty  on  high.  These  were  sublime  statements,  and 
needing  to  be  well  substantiated  to  be  made  acceptable.  He, 
therefore,  instituted  various  lines  of  argument,  adapted  to 
the  Jewish  mind  and  founded  upon  the  Scriptures,  which  all 
held  to  be  divinely  inspired.  And  as  the  Jews  regarded 
angels  as  the  highest  created  orders,  and  as  standing  next  in 
the  scale  to  the  eternal  Father  himself,  Paul's  first  effort  was 
to  prove  from  prophecy  that  Christ  is  superior  to  the  angels. 
He  introduces  three  points  in  which  this  super-angelic  dig- 
nity is  shown.  The  first  is,  that  Christ  is  assigned  a  higher 
name  than  the  angels  j  the  second  is,  that  he  is  clothed  with 
a  sublimer  honor  than  the  angels  j  and  the  third  is,  that 
0  18*  209 


210  THE   LAST    TIMES. 

Christ  is  invested  with  a  sublimer  office  than  the  angels, — 
they  being  only  ministering  spirits,  whilst  he  is  spoken  of  as  a 
divine  King,  whose  throne  is  forever  and  ever,  and  the  sceptre 
of  whose  kingdom  is  a  sceptre  of  righteousness.  The  princely 
investiture  and  reign  of  the  Messiah  is  thus  distinctly  deduced 
from  the  Old  Testament,  and  used  by  the  apostle  as  the  sub- 
limest  demonstration  of  the  Savior's  personal  dignity.  And 
this  Messianic  dominion  he  applies  particularly  to  what  is 
hereafter  to  grow  out  of  the  gospel  economy.  He  tells  us 
that  it  is  peculiarly  "  the  world  to  come"  over  which  the  Mes- 
siah's reign  is  to  be  exercised.  "For  unto  tlie  angels  hath 
he  not  put  into  subjection  the  icorld  to  come,  whereof  we 
speak;"  thus  proceeding  upon  the  implied  assumption  that  it 
has  been,  by  promise,  put  into  subjection  to  Jesus  Christ; 
and  that  all  those  allusions  to  the  Savior  as  a  King  have  their 
chief  application  and  ultimate  fulfillment  in  that  "world  to 
come."  The  Messiah's  reign  and  this  world  to  come  accord- 
ingly belong  together,  and  coexist  in  the  same  period  and 
locality.  By  determining,  then,  what  is  meant  by  this  "  world 
to  come,"  we  may  form  an  idea  of  what  is  included  in  the 
Messianic  kingdom ;  or,  if  we  already  know  what  the  consum- 
mated Messianic  reign  is,  and  where  it  is  to  be,  we  have  it 
already  decided  what  we  are  to  understand  by  this  "  world  to 
come." 

If  any  stress  is,  therefore,  to  be  laid  upon  the  conclusions 
evolved  in  the  preceding  discourses,  there  is  no  alternative 
left  but  to  understand  this  world  to  come  as  the  millennial 
world,  or  the  world  as  it  shall  be  when  Christ  shall  have  re- 
stored the  throne  of  David,  and  entered  upon  his  glorious 
dominion  as  the  sovereign  of  the  nations  and  Lord  of  the 
whole  earth.  And  to  this  agrees  exactly  the  original  word, 
oizou/jLsvr),  which  means  the  habitable  earth, — the  domicillatcd 
globe  on  which  we  dwell, — and  not  some  remote  supernal 
region,  as  we  sometimes  imagine.  The  world  to  come,  then, 


THE   NEW   EARTH.  211 

or  the  oixoufjLEVTfV  -njv  patJJutotvuj  as  the  apostle  calls  it,  is  no- 
thing more  nor  less  than  this  selfsame  world  of  ours  in  its  final 
or  millennial  condition.  This  earth  is  not  to  be  annihilated. 
God  never  obliterates  his  own  creations.  The  dissolving  fires, 
of  which  Peter  speaks,  are  for  "  the  perdition  of  ungodly 
men;"  and  not  for  the  utter  depopulation  and  destruction  of 
the  whole  world.  They  may  consume  cities,  destroy  armies, 
and  effect  some  important  meteorological  and  geological 
changes;  but  men  and  nations  will  survive  them  and  still 
continue  to  live  in  the  flesh.  The  earth  is  to  be  renovated 
and  restored  from  its  present  depression  and  dilapidation,  and 
thus  become  "  the  new  earth"  of  which  the  Bible  speaks.  It 
is  to  pass  through  a  "  regeneration"  analogous  to  that  through 
which  a  man  must  pass  to  see  the  kingdom  of  God ;  but  there 
will  be  a  continuity  of  its  elements  and  existence,  just  as  a 
regenerated  man  is  constitutionally  the  same  being  that  he 
was  before  his  renewal.  It  will  not  be  another  earth,  but  the 
same  earth  under  another  condition  of  things.  It  is  now 
laboring  under  the  curse ;  but  then  the  curse  will  have  been 
lifted  off,  and  all  its  wounds  healed.  At  present,  it  is  hardly 
habitable, — no  one  being  able  to  live  in  it  longer  than  a  few  brief 
years;  but  then  men  shall  dwell  in  it  forever,  without  know- 
ing what  death  is.  It  is  now  the  home  of  rebellion,  injustice 
and  guilt ;  it  will  then  be  the  home  of  righteousness.  It  is 
now  under  the  domination  of  Satan ;  it  will  then  come  under 
the  blessed  rule  of  the  Prince  of  peace.  Such,  at  any  rate, 
is  the  hope  set  before  us  in  the  word  of  God ;  and  this  I  hold 
to  be  "the  icorld  to  come"  of  which  the  text  speaks.  It 
cannot  be  any  thing  else.  It  cannot  be  what  is  commonly 
called  heaven ;  for  the  word  oixoo^vT)  cannot  apply  to  heaven. 
It  is  everywhere  else  used  exclusively  with  reference  to  our 
world.  Neither  can  it  be  the  present  gospel  dispensation,  as 
some  have  thought ;  for  that  began  long  before  this  epistle 
was  written,  and  could  not,  therefore,  have  been  spoken  of  by 


212  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

Paul  as  yet  "to  come."  We  are  consequently  compelled  to 
understand  it  to  mean  our  own  habitable  world  in  its  millen- 
nial glory.  And  as  the  prophecies  concerning  the  Messiah's 
eternal  kingship  are  here  referred  to  as  having  their  fulfill- 
ment in  the  subjection  of  the  millennial  world  to  his  dominion, 
we  are  furnished  with  another  powerful  argument  of  Scrip- 
ture in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ's  personal  reign  as  a 
great  Prince  in  this  world.  Indeed,  the  Bible  is  so  full  of 
this  subject,  and  its  inspired  writers  are  so  constantly  and 
enthusiastically  alluding  to  it,  that  I  am  amazed  to  find  so 
many  pious  and  Bible-loving  people  entirely  losing  sight  of 
it.  Ever  and  anon  the  Scriptures  return  to  it  as  the  great 
and  animating  hope  of  the  church  in  all  her  adversities  and 
depressions ;  and  it  does  seem  to  me  that  we  are  depriving 
ourselves  of  much  true  Christian  comfort  by  the  manner  in 
which  we  have  been  neglecting  and  thrusting  aside  that  glo- 
rious doctrine.  But,  as  I  have  already  spoken  on  that  subject 
and  given  some  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Scriptures 
present  it,  I  will  not  return  to  it  now.  My  present  object 
is  to  show,  from  the  Scriptures  and  by  just  inferences  from 
them,  what  sort  of  a  world  this  "  world  to  come"  is,  and  to 
describe,  as  far  as  I  can,  what  we  are  to  look  for  when  once 
this  earth  has  been  fully  subjected  to  that  divine  King  whose 
throne  is  forever  and  ever,  and  the  sceptre  of  whose  kingdom 
is  a  sceptre  of  righteousness. 

That  "  the  world  to  come"  is  a  highly  blessed  world,  and  a 
vast  improvement  upon  the  present  scene  of  things,  will  be 
inferred  on  all  hands  without  argument.  It  could  not  be  a 
subject  of  hope  if  it  were  not.  The  Savior  himself  ex- 
hibited a  model  of  it  when  in  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration; 
from  which,  perhaps,  we  may  obtain  as  deep  an  insight  of  its 
glories  as  from  any  other  portion  of  Scripture.  That  he  de- 
signed that  scene  as  a  miniature  model  of  what  his  future 
coming  and  kingdom  is  to  be,  is  obvious.  A  week  before  it 


ILLUSTRATION   FROM   THE   TRANSFIGURATION.         213 

occurred,  he  told  his  disciples  that  "  the  Son  of  man  shall 
come  in  the  glory  of  the  Father,  with  his  angels  or  messengers 
with  him  ;"  and  that  there  were  some  standing  there  when  he 
made  the  declaration  who  "should  not  taste  of  death  till  they 
saw  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  his  kingdom."  This  coming 
in  his  kingdom,  which  some  of  the  disciples  were  to  live  to 
see,  is  not  the  final  advent ;  for  the  disciples  are  all  dead,  and 
the  final  advent  is  still  future.  Neither  is  it  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem ;  for  but  one  of  the  apostles  lived  to  see 
that  catastrophe,  and  the  Son  of  man  did  not  then  come  in 
his  kingdom.  And  yet  some  of  the  apostles  were  to  have 
ocular  demonstration  of  the  Son  of  man's  coming  in  his  king- 
dom before  tasting  of  death.  Search  through  apostolic  his- 
tory as  we  will,  we  shall  find  nothing  but  the  transfiguration 
to  which  the  Savior's  words  will  apply.  That,  then,  was,  in 
some  sense,  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  in  his  kingdom.  It 
was  not,  indeed,  the  coming  itself,  but  it  was  an  earnest  and 
picture  of  it.  It  was  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  in  his 
kingdom,  as  the  bread  and  wine  in  the  Eucharist  are  Christ's 
body  and  blood.  Peter  says  "  the  power  and  coming  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ"  are  not  "  cunningly-devised  fables."  He 
declares  that  he  was  certified  of  their  reality  by  the  testimony 
of  his  own  senses.  We  were  eye-witnesses,  says  he,  "  when 
ice  icere  with  him  in  the  holy  mount."  We  thus  have  clear 
inspired  testimony  that  the  scene  of  the  transfiguration  was  a 
demonstrative  exhibition  of  the  coming  of  Jesus  in  his  kingdom. 
Hence,  whatever  we  find  in  the  descriptions  of  that  scene,  we 
may  confidently  expect  to  be  realized  in  that  "  world  to  come 
whereof  we  speak."  As  Christ  appeared  in  that  glorious 
scene,  so  he  will  appear  when  he  returns  to  this  world.  As 
he  was  then  personally  present  as  the  Son  of  man,  so  he  will 
be  personally  present  in  the  millennial  kingdom.  And  as  he 
was  there  attended  by  different  classes  of  persons,  so  will  his 
glorious  kingdom  consist  of  similar  classes.  The  first  will  be 


214  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

the  risen  and  glorified  saints,  represented  by  Moses;  the 
second  will  be  the  transformed  saints,  represented  by  Elijah, 
who  was  caught  np  without  testing  of  death ;  and  the  third 
and  most  numerous  class  will  he  those  who  shall  live  in  the 
body,  represented  by  Peter,  James  and  John,  as  they  bowed 
before  his  mighty  power,  and  looted  with  transport  and  wonder 
OB  his  in  enable  glory. 

Let  us,  then,  endeavor  to  draw  out  before  us  same  of  the 
more  striking  features  of  "the  world  to  come,"  and,  by  the 
contemplation  of  its  attractiveness,  endeavor  to  school  our 
hearts  into  more  ardent  thirst  to  participate  in  its  blissful 


I  do  not  wish  to  depreciate  in  the  least  those 
-~-L_:- :..::.:-  :"  b0BfM  ••§•  -wL:.-:.  •*••:•  -;.w  Em.  It  is  a 
blessed  thing  to  have  the  Bible,  and  to  attend  properly  on  the 
of  grace,  and  to  enjoy  the  renewing  and  comforting 
i  of  the  Holy  Ghost  In  giving  to  us  these  things, 
God  has  endowed  us  with  mercies  for  which  we  never  can  be 
sufficiently  thankful.  But  he  authorizes  10  to  look  for  greater 
things  than  these.  The  puacui  economy  is  only  preparatory 
to  something  higher  and  more  blessed. 


And  acting  tie  mere  prebrie  nto  joy 


There  is  another  and  more  exalted  scene  of  things  to  follow 
after  the  present.  If  we  axe  faithful  to  our  Lord,  there  re- 
mains for  us  "a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness." 
And  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  sublime  features  of  that 
"new  earth"  is,  that  it  is  to  have  in  it  the  personal,  visible 
and  illustrious  presence  of  the  Son  of  God,  its  great  King. 
It  was  the  preaence  of  Jesus  in  bis  glory  that  made  Peter 
wish  to  stay  in  the  Mountain  rather  than  return  again  into 
UM  cold  and  heartless  world  below.  That  glorious  presence 


MAN'S   DESIRE   TO   BEHOLD   GOD.  215 

was  more  than  all  earth  beside.  We  may  thus  gather  some 
idea  of  the  preciousness  of  that  promise  that  "the  pure  in 
heart  shall  see  God."  The  mere  vision  of  Christ  in  his 
glory  will  be  heaven  to  the  soul  that  leans  on  him  as  the 
Redeemer. 

There  is  no  thirst  in  man  more  craving  than  the  desire  to 
behold  God.  All  the  images  in  heathen  temples,  and  all  the 
idolatries  of  the  world,  are  but  expressions  of  this  perpetual 
sigh  of  humanity.  Moses  himself  coveted  most  of  all  things 
to  see  Him  who  was  accomplishing  such  wonders  by  his  hand. 
And  very  few,  if  any,  can  pray  without  first  forming  to  the 
mind  some  image  of  God.  We  are  creatures  of  sense.  Ab- 
stract spirit  is  a  cold  and  uninviting  conception.  All  our 
deepest  impressions,  and  all  our  ideas,  are  received  by  means 
of  the  outward  senses.  And  there  is  no  glory  of  God  of  which 
we  can  conceive  that  can  possibly  be  so  satisfying  and  trans- 
porting as  that  of  beholding  him,'and  for  ourselves  seeing  his 
glory.  All  Christ's  sublime  teachings  did  not  so  impress  and 
rejoice  the  hearts  of  Peter,  James  and  John,  as  that  one 
short  vision  of  the  Savior,  as  he  was  transfigured  before  them. 
Not  all  the  sublime  experiences  of  Moses  so  satisfied  him,  as 
when  God  gave  him  some  visible  manifestation  of  his  glory. 
When  John  sums  up  the  highest  prospects  of  believers,  ho 
makes  their  fullest  satisfaction  and  rapture  depend  on  seeing 
Jesus  as  he  is.  And  Peter,  when  he  came  to  his  strongest 
reason  for  holding  Christianity  to  be  a  reality,  referred  to  what 
he  had  witnessed  on  the  holy  mount.  It  was  a  glad  thing  to 
see  Jesus,  even  in  his  humiliation.  We  sometimes  wish  that 
we  had  lived  in  those  days,  that  we  might  have  looked  upon 
his  face  and  heard  the  tones  of  his  voice.  If  we  could  refer 
to  but  one  slight  glimpse  of  him,  we  would  treasure  it  as  a 
blissful  thing.  We  would  ever  recur  to  it  with  pleasure.  If 
there  were  now  a  spot  on  earth  where  we  could  see  him  even 
as  he  then  was,  millions  would  spare  no  expense  or  pains  to 


215  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

gain  a  look  upon  him,  and  multitudes  would  throng  to  the 
place,  crying,  "Sirs}  ice  would  see  Jesus!"  And  if  it  would 
be  a  high  and  lawful  gratification  to  see  Christ  as  he  once  lived 
on  earth,  how  sublime  would  be  the  portion  of  seeing  him  in 
the  glory  of  his  kingdom  !  "Would  it  not  afford  a  certainty  to 
our  faith,  and  a  rapture  to  our  hearts,  worth  living  for  ?  Look 
at  the  case  of  the  queen  of  Sheba,  when  she  came  to  see  the 
glory  of  Solomon, — the  type  of  the  greater  than  Solomon. 
She  had  "  heard  of  his  fame  concerning  the  name  of  the 
Lord,"  as  we  have  heard  of  Christ  and  his  glory;  but  there 
was  an  air  of  romance  about  it  which  made  her  doubtful,  just 
as  many  even  Christian  people  are  with  respect  to  revelation. 
There  was  something  wanting  to  complete  her  enjoyment. 
She  needed  yet  to  see  the  reality  of  which  she  had  heard.  To 
secure  this,  a  journey  of  months  through  exposure  and  dan- 
gers she  deemed  of  small  account.  "And  when  she  had  seen 
all  Solomon's  wisdom,  and  the  house  that  he  had  built,  and 
the  meat  of  his  table,  and  the  sitting  of  his  servants,  and  the 
standing  of  his  ministers,  and  their  apparel,  and  his  ascent  by 
which  he  went  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord,  there  was  no  more 
spirit  in  her;"  she  fainted  for  very  ecstasy.  Now  she  could 
say  that  it  was  a  true  report  which  she  had  heard,  and  that 
the  half  had  not  been  told  her.  Never  could  she  have  for- 
gotten that  visit.  Never  could  that  vision  of  Solomon's  glory 
have  passed  from  her  delighted  memory.  Never  did  it  cease 
from  being  a  sunny  spot  in  her  recollection  to  which  to  recur 
as  the  happiest  event  of  her  life.  And  if  the  sight  of  the 
glory  of  the  mere  human  type  of  the  Messiah  was  thus  trans- 
porting and  overpowering,  what  a  joy  would  it  be  for  the 
Christian  to  see  the  blessed  Jesus  himself  in  the  glory  of  his 
ineffable  kingdom  ?  If  to  see  Solomon's  grandeur  was  an 
event  worth  living  for,  who  shall  estimate  the  heavenly  rapture 
of  beholding  the  Savior  on  his  high  throne  of  glory,  clothed 
with  light  as  with  a  garment,  crowned  with  all  the  sublime 


BLISS    OF    THE    MILLENNIUM.  217 

beneficence  of  heaven,  thousands  ministering  unto  him,  ten 
thousand  thousands  standing  before  him,  and  multitudes  of 
celestial  spirits  ever  shouting  to  his  praise,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy, 
Lord  God  Almighty !"  Would  it  not  be  a  high  privilege  to 
see  all  this  ?  Would  it  not  fill  out  the  believer's  joy,  and 
establish  him  in  the  certainties  and  raptures  of  his  faith,  as 
nothing  else  can  ?  Would  it  not  set  his  whole  nature  in  a 
glow  with  heavenly  inspiration,  and  consecrate  him  as  a  new 
apostle  just  from  the  third  heaven  ?  Would  it  not  impart  a 
richer  pleasure,  and  a  more  satisfying  joy,  than  all  the  gifts 
of  Pentecost? 

From  this  we  may,  then,  infer  something  of  the  bliss  of 
millennial  times,  when  Christ  shall  be  upon  earth,  arrayed  in 
all  the  glory  of  his  kingdom.  Then  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is. 
The  glorified  saints  shall  ever  be  near  him,  in  the  closest  com- 
munion with  him,  for  he  is  their  brother  as  well  as  their  Re- 
deemer and  King.  And  those  who"  live  in  the  flesh  shall  not 
be  excluded  from  near  visions  of  his  glory  and  rapturous 
approaches  to  his  person  and  presence.  The  ransomed  nations 
shall  continually  send  up  their  streams  of  worshippers  to  Jeru- 
salem, where  they  shall  "see  the  King  in  his  leauty,"  and 
receive  his  communications,  and  be  made  glad  in  his  favors. 
Then,  with  overflowing  hearts,  shall  men  say,  "It  was  a  true 
report  which  we  heard ;  our  eyes  now  have  seen  ;  and,  behold, 
the  half  was  not  told  us !"  Doubt  and  unbelief  will  then  be 
no  more.  Harassing  fears  will  be  cast  out.  Christ's  existence, 
triumphs  and  unspeakable  glories  will  then  be  visibly  demon- 
strated, and  the  world  shall  be  lifted  out  of  the  grave  of  its 
darkness  and  misgivings  into  the  glorious  light  and  liberty  of 
the  sons  of  God.  For  if  Christ's  presence  in  the  transfigura- 
tion converted  the  rugged  mount  into  all  that  Peter  could 
desire  of  heaven,  his  sublime  and  gracious  presence  in  his 
kingdom  cannot  make  this  world  less  than  a  paradise  of 

God. 

19 


218  THE    LAST   TliMES. 

"Oh,  the  delights,  the  heavenly  joys, 

The  glories,  of  the  place 
"Where  Jesus  sheds  the  brightening  beams 
Of  his  unveiled  face  !" 

A  second  great  feature  of  the  "  new  earth,"  or  "  world  to 
come/'  is  the  exaltation,  presence  and  ministrations  of  the 
church  of  the  first-born.  Paul  tells  us,  that  when  Christ 
comes,  the  holy  dead  shall  be  raised,  and  the  pious  living 
changed,  and  both  these  classes  together  enter  into  their  high 
and  peculiar  estate.  These  will  the  Savior  bring  with  him,  and 
have  associated  with  him  in  the  princedom  and  sublimities  of 
his  glorious  empire.  They  shall  then  have  spiritual  and  glo- 
rified bodies,  like  the  glorious  body  of  their  Lord.  They  will 
not  return  to  the  earthy  life  which  they  once  lived  in  the 
flesh ;  but  they  shall  live  a  life  like  that  which  Jesus  lives. 
They  shall  be  in  the  closest  union  with  Christ,  for  they  con- 
stitute his  Bride,  and  are  to  "  be  ever  with  the  Lord."  His 
delight  shall  be  in  them,  and  their  delight  shall  be  in  him. 
They  will  share  in  his  glories,  and  be  partakers  of  his  throne. 
They  are  to  "reign  with  Christ."  They  are  to  judge  angels 
and  judge  the  world.  The  twelve  apostles  are  to  have  twelve 
thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  Having  over- 
come, and  kept  the  Savior's  sayings  to  the  end,  they  shall 
have  power  over  the  nations.  He  that  has  been  faithful  over 
five  talents  shall  have  dominion  over  five  cities ;  and  he  that 
has  been  faithful  over  ten  talents  shall  have  dominion  over 
ten  cities ;  every  man  according  as  his  work  has  been.  And 
so  "the  kingdom  and  dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  the 
kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the  saints 
of  the  Most  High."  They  are  to  sit  on  thrones,  and  judg- 
ment shall  be  given  them,  and  they  shall  be  priests  of  God, 
even  of  Christ,  and  shall  reign  with  him  the  thousand  years. 
They  are  to  wear  crowns  of  righteousness,  which  God  the 
righteous  Judge  will  give  unto  them  at  that  day.  Having 


THE    EXALTATION    OF    THE    SAINTS.  219 

exercised  meekness,  they  shall  inherit  the  earth ;  and,  by  the 
righteousness  of  faith  made  "  heirs  of  the  world,"  they  shall 
enter  upon  their  inheritance.  Jesus  is  the  heir  of  all  things, 
and  the  saints  are  joint-heirs  with  him.  Having  suffered  with 
him,  they  shall  be  glorified  with  him.  They  shall  have  a  city 
of  habitation  becoming  their  high  nature, — "a  firmly-founded 
city,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God."  They  are  to  eat  and 
drink  with  Christ,  at  his  table,  in  his  kingdom.  "  They  shall 
see  his  face,  and  his  name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads,  and 
they  shall  reign  forever  and  ever."  They  shall  neither  marry, 
nor  be  given  in  marriage,  but  shall  be  as  the  angels  of  God. 
"  Oh,  what  untried  forms  of  happy  being,  what  cycles  of  revolv- 
ing bliss,  await  the  just !  Conception  cannot  reach  it,  nor 
experience  present  materials  for  the  picture  of  its  similitude ; 
and  though  thus  figured  out  with  the  choicest  emblems,  they 
do  no  more  represent  it,  than  the  name  of  Shepherd  describes 
the  watchful  guardianship  of  Christ,  or  the  name  of  Father 
the  unspeakable  love  of  God."  "  It  doth  not  yet  appear  what 
we  shall  be."  What  shall  be  the  precise  nature  of  the 
authority,  priesthood,  heirship  and  glory  of  the  saints,  can- 
not now  be  told.  But  this  "  we  know,  that  when  he  (the 
Savior)  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him,  and  shall  see  him 
as  he  is."  A  world  of  wonders  is  in  every  word  of  this  pro- 
mise. But  how  great  shall  be  the  believer's  happiness,  what 
his  peculiar  circumstances,  how  large  his  possessions,  and 
what  the  exact  nature  and  dignity  of  his  employments,  tongue 
cannot  tell,  nor  heart  conceive.  We  cannot  understand  the 
soul's  faculties  now  5  and  they  shall  be  greater  hereafter. 
Sublime  are  the  Christian's  relations  now;  and  they  shall  be 
sublimer  then.  Wonderful  are  the  offices  and  mission  of  good 
men  now;  and  they  shall  be  a  thousand  times  more  wonderful 
then.  A  thoroughly-converted  and  enlightened  man,  even 
whilst  in  the  corrupt  flesh,  is  a  noble  object  to  behold.  Even 
the  angels  are  not  ashamed  to  become  ministering  spirits  to 


220  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

him.  What  then  shall  be  his  glory  when  he  shall  come  to 
occupy  his  throne  with  the  adorable  Jesus  in  the  dignity  of 
eternal  empire  ! 

That  the  glorified  saints  will,  to  some  extent,  mingle  with 
those  who  live  in  the  body,  and  at  times  unveil  their  radiance 
to  them,  I  think  there  is  reason  to  believe.  Their  offices 
would  seem  to  imply  it.  If  they  are  to  govern,  direct  and 
minister  to  those  in  the  flesh,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  they 
will  also  be  visible,  at  least  occasionally.  Angels,  in  the  per- 
formance of  similar  offices,  have  often  been  manifested  to 
living  men ;  and  why  should  it  not  be  so  with  Christ's  ser- 
vants, in  the  wonderful  administrations  of  his  glorious  king- 
dom ?  The  earth  will  then  be  much  nearer  to  heaven  than 
ever  it  was  before,  and  the  intercourse  between  them  will 
doubtless  be  much  more  free  and  intimate.  Glorified  or  spi- 
ritual bodies  are,  perhaps,  in  their  nature,  invisible  to  our 
earthly  senses.  Christ,  after  his  resurrection,  was  not  visible 
except  at  certain  times  when  he  manifested  himself.  The 
angels  are  invisible,  and  yet  we  have  many  instances  in  which 
they  were  revealed  to  the  view  of  mortals.  And  in  that  new 
world  in  which  the  glorified  saints  are  to  be  enthroned,  and 
commissioned,  as  the  ministers  of  Christ  the  great  King,  to 
execute  his  orders  and  administer  his  government  over  the 
nations,  we  may  reasonably  expect  that  they  will  often  appear, 
and  converse  with  those  who  live  in  the  flesh ;  and  that  inter- 
course between  them  and  those  in  the  body  will  be  as  real, 
familiar  and  blessed  as  that  which  Adam  enjoyed  with  hea- 
venly beings  in  Paradise 

But  whatever  may  be  the  specific  nature  of  the  king-hood 
and  priesthood  of  the  glorified  saints,  or  in  whatever  way  they 
may  discharge  their  sublime  ministrations,  we  may  rest  assured 
that  their  relation  to  the  world  will  be  for  good  and  blessing. 
Christ  will  thus  associate  them  with  him  in  his  kingdom  only 
the  more  gloriously  to  fulfill  his  grand  designs  of  love  and 


OFFICE   OF   THE   CHURCH.  221 

mercy.  He  came  into  this  world  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost.  He  came  to  reveal  God  to  man,  and  to  lift 
up  man  into  harmony  with  God.  He  came  amidst  the  grovel- 
ing, the  selfish  and  the  earthly,  to  tell  a  tale  of  disinterested 
love  at  which  selfishness  might  hang  its  head.  He  came 
amidst  the  guilty,  the  wretched  and  the  lost,  to  reveal  a  de- 
sign of  mercy  at  which  angels  rejoice  with  exceeding  joy,  and 
before  which  the  aching  and  the  burdened  heart  may  throw 
off  the  load  under  which  it  labors.  He  suffered,  died,  rose 
again,  now  lives  in  heaven,  and  will  soon  return  to  earth,  all 
to  cast  out  the  evil  which  has  come  upon  man,  and  to  bring 
this  world  back  to  the  Paradise  it  once  was.  And  this  espous- 
ing to  himself  of  an  elect,  ransomed  and  glorified  church  can 
be  for  no  other  purpose  than  that  which  he  has  already  mani- 
fested in  his  wonderful  doings  hitherto.  Much  of  the  great 
plan  of  redemption  yet  remains  unfulfilled;  and  this  church 
of  the  first-born  is  exalted  to  its  high  place,  not  only  for  its 
own  glory  and  the  Savior's  praise,  but  as  another  great  link  in 
the  chain  of  agencies  and  administrations  by  which  the  entire 
world  is  to  be  yet  restored  to  the  high  sphere  for  which  it 
was  destined.  These  children  of  the  resurrection  are  to  con- 
stitute an  elect  and  immortal  college,  connected  with  the 
Savior's  own  glorified  humanity,  that  he  may  thus  consum- 
mate his  wonderful  designs  in  the  ultimate  and  entire  repeal 
of  the  curse  under  which  the  earth  groans,  and  the  recovery 
forever  of  the  lost  heritage  of  man.  Why  does  he  call  and 
constitute  the  church  as  we  now  have  it  ?  Certainly  not  only 
that  those  who  enter  it  may  be  justified  and  accepted.  There 
is  another  object.  It  is  that  he  may  work  in  and  through  the 
church,  and  carry  light,  civilization,  truth  and  hope  to  the 
children  of  men.  And  Christians  are  not  done  with  this 
world  when  they  die.  When  this  elect  church  shall  have 
been  completed,  and  its  members  come  to  be  priests  and  kings 

with  Christ   in   the  glorious  Messianic  kingdom,  the  same 

19* 


222  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

general  calling  which  they  now  fill  will  continue.  These 
sublime  princedoms  of  the  eternal  empire  are  a  part  of  God's 
great  plan  to  let  forth  his  love,  wisdom  and  blessing  upon 
earth's  future  generations.  Blessed,  blessed,  shall  it  then  be 
for  the  world,  when  once  the  saints  shall  be  installed  with 
their  promised  dominion,  and  sit  with  Christ  upon  his  throne ! 
Another  characteristic  of  the  millennial  world  will  be  the 
entire  absence  of  all  the  confederations  and  powers  of  wicked- 
ness. When  the  Savior  comes,  Antichrist,  in  all  its  shapes,  will 
be  destroyed.  The  wild  beast  and  the  false  prophet,  and  all 
their  supporters  and  adherents,  are  to  be  taken  and  cast  into 
the  bottomless  abyss.  The  last  renovating  fires  which  are  to 
be  kindled  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  shall  carry  all  the  con- 
federates in  usurpation  and  wrong  to  their  merited  perdition. 
The  dragon,  that  old  serpent,  which  is  the  devil,  even  Satan, 
shall  then  be  seized,  and  bound,  and  confined  in  the  pit,  to 
deceive  the  nations  no  more  till  the  thousand  years  be  fulfilled, 
and  after  a  brief  release  consigned  to  eternal  death.  In- 
stead of  despotism  and  tyranny  shall  be  justice  and  charity. 
Those  that  now  corrupt  and  destroy  the  earth  will  then  have 
been  destroyed.  The  filthy  dreamers,  who  despise  government 
and  speak  evil  of  dignities,  will  then  have  passed  away.  Tho 
raging  waves  of  popular  revolution,  foaming  out  their  own 
shame,  shall  have  been  stilled,  to  rise  no  more.  Those  wan- 
dering stars  in  church  and  state,  by  whom  so  much  disturbance 
is  now  experienced,  will  then  have  gone  to  the  blackness  of 
darkness  appointed  for  them.  Might  shall  not  then  trample 
any  more  upon  right.  The  course  of  nature,  now  set  on  fire 
of  hell,  shall  then  be  made  to  flow  in  all  the  smoothness  and 
tranquility  of  heaven.  "  The  Son  of  man  shall  send  forth  his 
angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all  things 
that  offend,  and  them  which  do  iniquity,  and  shall  cast  them 
into  a  furnace  of  fire."  False  prophets  and  false  teachers, 
with  all  their  "  damnable  heresies/'  shall  then  have  gone  to 


OF  THE  HEBREW  NATION.  223 

their  destruction.  Nations  shall  cease  their  fierce  works  of 
war,  and  armies  no  more  butcher  each  other  upon  the  bloody 
field  of  battle.  Violence  will  no  more  be  heard  in  the  laud, 
nor  wasting  and  destruction  within  its  borders.  Satan  will  be 
deprived  of  his  power  to  stir  up  rankling  passion,  and  the 
sway  of  oppression  and  iniquity  will  be  ended.  The  greatest 
of  the  world's  burdens  will  thus  be  lifted  off,  and  the  mill-stone 
that  has  weighed  it  down  so  long  will  be  loosed  from  its  neck 
forever. 

A  fourth  feature  of  the  millennium,  or  new  earth,  will  be 
the  great  exaltation,  piety  and  glory  of  the  Hebrew  nation, 
and  of  the  world  through  them.  I  have  shown  that  this 
people  is  to  be  restored  to  Palestine;  that  Jerusalem  is  to  be 
rebuilt  in  more  than  its  former  glory;  that  the  throne  of  David 
is  to  be  re-established;  and  that  the  Prince  Messiah  is  to  be 
their  King.  "  For  lo !  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I 
will  bring  again  the  captivity  of  my  people  Israel  and  Judah, 
and  I  will  cause  them  to  return  to  the  land  that  I  gave  to  their 
fathers,  and  they  shall  possess  it.  And  they  shall  serve  the 
Lord  their  God  and  DAVID  THEIR  KING,  ichom  I  will  raise 
•up  unto  them:"  (Jer.  xxx.  3-9.)  "They  shall  all  of  them 
be  righteous,  and  shall  inherit  the  land  forever."  Their  land 
that  was  desolate  shall  become  like  Eden,  and  even  its  desert 
like  the  garden  of  Jehovah.  "In  that  day  shall  the  branch 
of  the  Lord  be  beautiful  and  glorious,  and  the  fruit  of  the 
earth  shall  be  excellent  and  comely  for  them  that  are  escaped 
of  Israel.  And  he  that  is  left  in  Zion,  and  he  that  remaineth 
in  Jerusalem,  shall  be  called  holy."  Grod  says  of  the  house 
of  Jacob,  "  The  Gentiles  shall  see  thy  righteousness,  and  all 
kings  thy  glory.  Thou  shalt  be  a  crown  of  glory  in  the  hand 
of  the  Lord,  and  a  royal  diadem  in  the  hand  of  thy  God. 
Ye  that  make  mention  of  the  Lord,  give  him  no  rest  till  he 
make  Jerusalem  a  praise  in  the  earth.  Say  to  the  daughter 
of  Zion;  Behold,  thy  salvation  cometh.  And  they  shall  call 


224  THE   LAST  TIMES. 

them,  The  holy  people,  The  redeemed  of  the  Lord."  "Re- 
joice ye  with  Jerusalem,  and  be  glad  with  her;  for  thus  saith 
the  Lord,  Behold,  I  will  extend  peace  to  her  like  a  river,  and 
the  glory  of  the  Gentiles  like  a  flowing  stream."  "  At  that 
time  they  shall  call  Jerusalem  THE  THRONE  OF  THE  LORD; 
and  all  the  nations  shall  be  gathered  unto  it,  to  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  to  Jerusalem."  "I  the  Lord  will  be  their 
God,  and  my  servant  David  a  prince  among  them.  And  I 
will  make  them  and  the  places  round  about  my  hill  a  bless- 
ing. And  I  will  raise  up  for  them  a  plant  of  renown.  Thus 
shall  they  know  that  I  the  Lord  their  God  am  with  them,  and 
that  they,  even  the  house  of  Israel,  are  my  people."  "I  will 
be  as  the  dew  unto  Israel;  he  shall  grow  as  the  lily,  and  cast 
forth  his  roots;  his  branches  shall  spread,  and  his  beauty  shall 
be  as  the  olive-tree,  and  his  smell  as  Lebanon."  "And  many 
nations  shall  come  and  say,  Come,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord,  and  to  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob ; 
and  he  will  teach  us  of  his  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  his 
paths ;  for  the  law  shall  go  forth  of  Zion,  and  the  word  of  the 
Lord  from  Jerusalem."  Jesus  himself  shall  descend  among 
them,  and  be  their  King.  He  shall  fight  for  them  in  the  day 
of  battle,  and  slay  all  their  enemies.  For  "God  shall  give 
unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father  David,  and  he  shall  reign 
over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever,"  and  "  before  his  ancients 
gloriously." 

These  are  glowing  promises.  Well  may  they  cause  the 
Jew  to  be  hopeful  amid  all  his  long-continued  spoliations,  and 
to  sing  still,  "If  I  forget  thee,  0  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand 
forget  her  cunning!  If  I  do  not  remember  thee,  let  my 
tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth !"  And  when  these 
glad  predictions  shall  be  fulfilled,  all  the  nations  shall  share  in 
the  sublime  exaltations  of  God's  ancient  people  and  their 
glorious  King.  Then  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  shall  be 
blessed  in  Abraham's  seed.  "  Israel  shall  blossom  and  bud. 


SCRIPTURE   PROMISES.  225 

and  fill  the  face  of  the  earth  with  fruit."  "The  remnant  of 
Jacob  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  many  people  as  a  dew  from  the 
Lord,  and  as  showers  upon  the  grass."  "They  shall  be  called 
the  priests  of  the  Lord;  and  men  shall  call  them  the  ministers 
of  our  God."  When  Zion,  the  city  of  the  Lord,  shall  arise 
and  shine,  the  Gentiles  shall  come  to  its  light,  and  kings  to  the 
brightness  of  its  rising.  When  the  New  Jerusalem  appears, 
"  the  nations  of  them  which  are  saved  shall  walk  in  the  light 
of  it."  In  that  day,  Israel's  King,  even  "the  Lord,  shall  be 
King  over  all  the  earth."  "All  people,  nations  and  lan- 
guages shall  serve  and  obey  him."  "The  heathen  shall  be 
given  to  him  for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth  for  his  possession."  "Kings  shall  fall  down  before 
him,  and  all  nations  shall  serve  him."  "He  shall  reign  and 
prosper,  and  his  rest  shall  be  glorious."  "The  world  to  come, 
whereof  we  speak,"  has  been  put  into  subjection  unto  him. 
The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  to  be  his  kingdoms.  Every 
knee  shall  bow,  and  every  tongue  confess  that  he  is  Lord.  He 
must  reign  until  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet. 
Morally,  spiritually  and  politically,  all  people  must  be  event- 
ually subjugated  unto  him.  "For  the  earth  shall  be  filled 
with  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea." 

All  these  are  God's  own  revelations.  They  are  full  of  mys- 
tery, but  full  of  hope.  How  they  are  to  be  fulfilled  may  be  a 
subject  of  wonder;  but  that  they  will  be  fulfilled  is  as  certain 
as  the  existence  of  God.  It  may  not  all  be  done  at  once.  It 
will  be  an  achievement  of  moral  force,  and  not  of  mere  arbi- 
trary coercion.  It  may  require  years  upon  years  to  accomplish 
all;  but  He  who  has  promised  knows  how  to  perform  what  he 
has  uttered.  The  new,  august  and  momentous  personal  mani- 
festations.of  Christ  for  which  we  are  taught  to  look,  the  en- 
larged gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  are  yet  to  be  bestowed, 
the  appointment  of  other,  better  equipped  and  more  efiicieut 


22G  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

ministerial  agencies,  the  probable  revival  of  miracles,  the 
shaking  of  the  nations  with  the  terrors  of  coming  judgments, 
the  increased  power  of  the  Bible  derived  from  the  fulfillment 
of  its  prophecies,  and  the  removal  of  Satan  and  all  his  treacher- 
ous opposition,  certainly  will  leave  it  no  difficult  task  to  make 
a  speedy  conquest  of  all  the  great  nations  to  the  glorious 
dominion  of  the  Son  of  David,  come  down  from  heaven  to  be 
their  King  and  Lord  forever.  At  all  events, — 

"Jesus  shall  reign  -where'er  the  sun 
Does  his  successive  journeys  run; 
His  kingdom  stretch  from  shore  to  shore, 
Till  moons  shall  wax  and  wane  no  more." 

But  the  new  earth  has  yet  another  blessed  characteristic. 
It  is  to  present  the  glorious  spectacle  of  the  entire  repeal  of 
the  curse  of  sin.  It  is  true  that  the  complete  and  entire 
repeal  of  the  curse  will  not  be  consummated  until  the  end  of 
the  thousand  years,  when  all  wickedness  and  the  wicked  shall 
finally  be  cast  out  from  the  earth  forever.  But,  from  the  time 
Christ  comes  and  takes  dominion  of  the  world  with  his  glori- 
fied saints,  every  thing  will  advance  closer  and  closer  until  it 
reaches  this  final  and  transcendent  consummation.  His  com- 
ing is  styled  "the  regeneration," — "the  day  of  the  restitution 
of  all  things/' — the  time  when  God  shall  "make  all  things 
new," — "the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  Grod,"  for  which  the 
creation  groans  and  waits, —  the  day  of  redemption,  when  "the 
creature  itself  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  cor- 
ruption, into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  Grod." 
Christ  is  the  Redeemer  and  Lord  of  the  whole  creation,  as 
well  as  of  the  human  soul.  When  Grod  made  man,  he  said  to 
him,  "Have  dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the 
fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the  cattle,  and  over  all  the  earth, 
and  over  every  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth." 
This  dominion  Adam  lost.  The  rebellion  of  the  soul  against 
Grod  brought  with  it  the  rebellion  of  the  flesh  against  the 


SCRIPTURE   PROMISES.  227 

spirit,  and  of  nature  against  the  entire  man.  Discords,  anti- 
pathies and  a  thousand  evils  ensued.  Christ  is  the  second 
Adam,  and  by  subverting  the  empire  of  Satan  he  regains  the 
dominion  which  Adam  lost,  and  carries  his  redemption  as  far 
as  the  consequences  of  the  fall  have  reached.  Otherwise,  the 
entire  breach  is  not  healed,  and  salvation  is  imperfect.  The 
whole  earth  under  the  Messiah  must  then  ultimately  become 
all  that  it  was  under  Adam,  and  what  it  always  would  Lave 
been  if  Adam  had  never  sinned.  The  curse  that  was  put 
upon  the  ground  for  Adam's  sin,  filling  it  with  thorns  and 
thistles,  infusing  sweat  and  pain  into  all  our  participations  of 
its  products,  must  be  taken  off.  The  evils  and  confusion 
which  sin  has  brought  into  the  world  must  be  driven  out. 
And  this  is  exactly  what  is  promised  under  the  reign  of  Christ 
and  his  saints.  "The  Spirit  shall  be  poured  from  on  high, 
and  the  wilderness  be  a  fruitful  field,  and  the  fruitful  field  be 
counted  a  forest.  And  the  work  of  righteousness  shall  be 
peace;  and  the  effect  of  righteousness,  quietness  and  assurance 
forever."  "The  mountains  and  the  hills  shall  break  forth 
into  singing,  and  all  the  trees  of  the  field  shall  clap  their 
hands.  Instead  of  the  thorn  shall  come  up  the  fir-tree,  and 
instead  of  the  brier  shall  come  up  the  myrtle-tree:  and  it 
shall  be  to  the  Lord  for  a  name,  for  an  everlasting  sign  that 
shall  not  be  cut  off."  "Then  the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be 
opened,  and  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped.  Then 
shall  the  lame  man  leap  as  an  hart,  and  the  tongue  of  the 
dumb  sing;  in  the  wilderness  shall  waters  break  out,  and 
streams  in  the  desert.  And  the  parched  ground  shall  become 
a  watered  place,  and  the  thirsty  land  springs  of  water;  in  the 
habitation  of  dragons  there  shall  be  grass,  with  reeds  and 
rushes."  "And  the  inhabitants  shall  not  say,  I  am  sicJe." 
There  shall  be  no  more  thence  any  dying  in  infancy,  or  of 
men  who  have  not  filled  out  their  days.  "  They  shall  build 
houses  and  inhabit  them ;  and  they  shall  plant  vineyards  and 


228  THE   LAST    TIMES. 

eat  the  fruit  of  them.  They  shall  not  labor  in  vain,  nor 
bring  forth  for  trouble.  The  wolf  and  the  lamb  shall  feed 
together,  and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox :  and  dust 
shall  be  the  serpent's  meat.  They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy 
in  all  my  holy  mountain:"  (Isa.  Ixv.  17— 25.)  "The  waters 
of  the  Dead  Sea  shall  be  healed."  Trees  shall  grow  which 
shall  "yield  their  fruit  monthly,  and  the  leaves  thereof  shall 
be  for  the  healing  of  the  nations."  "They  shall  not  hunger 
nor  thirst,  neither  shall  the  heat  nor  sun  smite  them."  "AND 

THERE    SHALL   BE   NO   MORE  CURSE."       "And  God  shall  wipe 

away  all  tears  from  their  eyes;  AND  THERE  SHALL  BE  NO 
MORE  DEATH."  "The  last  enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed  is 
death."  He  may  linger  through  a  brief  and  feeble  existence 
in  some  of  the  outskirts  of  the  millennial  world;  but  he  must 
be  entirely  destroyed.  "Then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the 
saying  that  is  written,  Death  is  swallowed  up  of  victory ;" 
and  earth's  redeemed  and  undying  generations  shall  take  up 
the  song,  "  0  death !  where  is  thy  sting  ?  0  grave !  where  is 
thy  victory?  Thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ !' 

Such,  then,  is  the  glorious  consummation  to  which  the 
works  of  Providence  and  grace  are  tending.  Such  is  the 
finishing  of  the  mystery  which  God  hath  spoken  by  the  mouth 
of  all  his  holy  prophets.  This  battle-field  of  hell  and  heaven 
shall  rise  up  out  of  all  its  desolations.  The  bliss  of  Paradise 
shall  yet  dwell  in  its  valleys  and  the  glory  of  God  shine  on 
all  its  hills.  Though  a  lazar-house  for  so  many  ages,  it  shall 
be  the  home  of  righteousness  and  peace  and  a  temple  of 
blessing  and  glory,  whose  vaulted  dome  shall  echo  forever 
with  redemption's  songs.  Things  may  look  unpromising 
now;  but  everywhere  heaven  is  pouring  into  it.  Tyranny, 
war,  distress  and  wickedness  may  seem  to  be  triumphant;  but 
their  end  is  near,  and  the  Desire  of  nations  approaches. 
Satan  and  his  emissaries  may  struggle  in  their  desperation ; 


MILLENNIAL   GLORY.  229 

but  they  shall  not  be  able  to  keep  the  world  from  the  resur- 
rection to  which  it  is  moving.  The  sore  travail  of  the  Savior's 
soul  shall  yet  be  seen  in  an  everlasting  equation  between  it  and 
heaven.  Jesus  himself  shall  set  up  his  throne  in  it  and 
brighten  it  with  the  glories  of  his  ineffable  personal  presence. 
The  holy  ministries  of  the  children  of  the  resurrection  shall 
cover  it  with  a  mantle  of  peace  and  light.  Satan  and  all  his 
works  shall  be  rooted  out  of  it  forever.  All  its  long-erring 
nations  shall  be  reclaimed,  and  all  its  discordant  elements 
recovered  to  harmony  and  rest.  Over  all  this  place  of  graves 
the  flowers  of  immortality  shall  bloom.  Instead  of  the  coffin 
shall  be  Elijah's  chariot,  and  in  place  of  the  death-struggle 
shall  be  Enoch's  rapture.  And  from  all  God's  great  universe 
shall  break  forth  the  song  of  joy  and  praise  over  a  world  that 
was  lost  but  is  found ;  over  this  blasted  earth  made  new  again 
and  glorious  forever. 

"  Kegion  of  life  and  light ! 
Land  of  tho  good  whose  sweaty  toils  are  o'er! 
Nor  frost  nor  heat  may  blight 
Thy  vernal  beauty,  fertile  shore, 
Yielding  thy  blessed  fruits  for  evermore  ! 

"  There,  without  crook  or  sling, 
Walks  the  Good  Shepherd.     Blossoms  white  and  red 
Round  his  meek  temples  cling  ; 
And,  to  sweet  pastures  led, 
His  own  loved  flock  beneath  his  eyo  are  fed. 

"  He  guides,  and  near  him  they 
Follow  delighted ;  for  he  makes  them  go 
Where  dwells  eternal  May, 
And  heavenly  roses  blow, 
Deathless,  and  gathered  but  again  to  grow. 

"  He  leads  them  to  the  height 
Named  of  the  infinite  and  long-sought  Good, 
And  fountains  of  delight; 
And  where  his  feet  have  stood 
Springs  up,  along  the  way,  their  tender  food. 
20 


230  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

"  From  lips  divine  flow  forth 
Immortal  harmonies,  of  power  to  still 
All  passions  born  of  earth, 
And  draw  the  ardent  will 
Its  destiny  of  goodness  to  fulfill. 

"  Might  but  a  little  part, 
A  wandering  breath,  of  that  high  melody, 
Descend  into  my  heart, 
And  change  it,  till  it  be 
Transformed  and  swallowed  up,  0  Christ,  in  thee ! 


TENTH  DISCOURSE. 


THE     TESTIMONY     OF     THE     CHURCH  —  8UMMAEY     OF     OTJK     DOCTRINE 

CERIXTHUS THE  ANABAPTISTS MILLER IMPROPRIETY  OF  CLASSING 

US  WITH    THESE    PARTIES TRUE  CHURCH    TESTIMONY BARNABAS 

CLEMENT PAPIAS JUSTIN     MARTYR IREN^US TERTULLIAN 

CYPRIAN ACKNOWLEDGMENTS     AS    TO    THE    FAITH    OF     THE      EARLY 

CHURCH HOW  MILLENARIAN  DOCTRINE  WAS  SUPPRESSED ORIGEN's 

SYSTEM REVIVAL  OF  THE  PRIMITIVE  FAITH LUTHER JIELANCTHON 

THE    FRUITS    OF    OUR    BELIEF DIFFERENCE    BETWEEN    THE    EARLY 

AND    PRESENT    CHURCH. 


DEUT.  xxxii.  7  :  Remember  tlie  days  of  old,  consider  the  years  of 
many  generations:  ask  thy  fatfter,  and  lie  will  show  tliee;  tliy 
elders,  and  they  will  tell  thee. 

THE  past  is  one  of  our  best  teachers.  History  is  one  of 
the  storehouses  of  wisdom.  "Not  to  kuow  what  transpired 
before  we  were  born,"  says  a  classic  author,  "is  to  remain 
children." 

In  matters  of  religious  faith  it  is  particularly  important  to 
recur  to  the  testimony  of  those  who  lived  before  us.  Novelty 
is  sometimes  the  best  proof  of  heresy.  That  cannot  be 
Christianity  which  cannot  stand  the  test  of  history.  Antiquity 
alone  is  no  evidence  of  orthodoxy.  A  creed  may  be  old  and 
yet  be  false ;  but  it  cannot  be  new  and  yet  be  true.  The 
Christian  religion  is  a  written  tradition,  just  as  complete  at  its 
first  delivery  as  it  is  now.  All  the  advances  of  science, 
though  they  may  have  assisted  in  preparing  men  the  better  to 
appreciate  it,  have  not  added  to  it  a  single  jot.  In  some 

231 


232  THE  LAST   TIMES. 

things  the  children  may  be  accounted  the  fathers,  and  the 
fathers  the  children ;  but  even  in  those  instances  "  the  child 
is  father  of  the  man."  "We  cannot  be  independent  of  what 
has  gone  before  us.  In  every  thing  wisdom  bids  us  "  remem- 
ber the  days  of  old."  Yea,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Stand  ye 
in  the  ways  and  see,  and  ask  for  the  old  paths,  where  is  the 
good  way,  and  walk  therein,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your 
souls." 

I  propose,  therefore,  to  make  some  inquiry  into  the  testi- 
mony of  Christians  of  former  ages  respecting  the  doctrines 
which  I  have  been  putting  forth  in  these  discourses.  If  the 
church  in  its  first  and  purest  periods  held  them  as  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Scriptures,  that  fact  must  go  very  far  to  confirm 
them  as  the  truth  of  God.  The  saying  of  Tertullian,  that 
"  whatever  is  first  is  true ;  whatever  is  later  is  adulterate," 
may  not  always  hold  good.  Neither  are  we  to  rest  our 
faith  upon  the  mere  opinions  of  men,  whether  ancient  or 
modern.  "The  Bible,  the  Bible  alone,  is  the  religion  of 
Protestants;"  and  upon  the  Bible  do  I  rest  for  the  truth 
of  what  I  have  been  teaching.  But  it  is  not  very  likely 
that  the  most  enlightened  Christians  who  were  the  pupils 
and  hearers  of  the  inspired  apostles  and  their  immediate 
successors  were  mistaken  as  to  what  are  the  hopes  which 
Christianity  presents.  If  it  can  be  satisfactorily  shown 
that  they  believed  and  taught  the  Scriptures  as  I  have 
been  interpreting  them,  it  will  be  hard  for  a  reasonable 
man  to  conclude  that  I  am  wrong.  Whilst,  then,  we  take 
the  Scriptures  as  our  only  and  infallible  standard,  and  accord 
to  every  man  the  right  to  examine  and  decide  for  himself 
as  God  shall  judge  him,  the  light  of  antiquity  cannot  be 
discarded  as  useless.  It  is  one  of  our  helps  to  a  right 
understanding  of  God's  revelation,  which  we  are  not  safe 
in  despising.  And  though  we  are  not  to  receive  the 
testimony  of  anybody  where  that  testimony  conflicts  with 


SUMMARY   OF   DOCTRINE.  233 

the  Bible,  we  will  do  well  to  "remember  the  days  of  old," 
and  to  "  consider  the  years  of  many  generations."  The 
fathers  had  some  advantages  which  we  have  not.  Let  us 
then  avail  ourselves  of  these  advantages  in  our  search  for 
truth.  Let  us  ask  them,  and  they  will  show  us,  and  inquire 
of  the  elders,  and  they  will  tell  us. 

The  principal  points  which  I  have  thus  far  presented,  as 
my  apprehension  of  God's  revealinents  concerning  "  the  last 
times,"  are  as  follows  : — 

1.  That  Christ  Jesus,  our  adorable  Redeemer,  is  to  return  to 
this  world  in  great  power  and  glory,  as  really  and  as  literally 
as  he  ascended  up  from  it. 

2.  That  this  final  advent  of  the  Messiah  will  occur  before 
the  general  conversion  of  the  world,  while  the  Man  of  sin 
still  continues  his  abominations,  while  the  earth  is  yet  fu^ 
of  tyranny,  war,  infidelity  and  blasphemy,  and  consequently 
before  what  is  called  the  millennium. 

3.  That  this  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  will  not  be  to 
depopulate  and  annihilate  the  earth,  but  to  judge,  subdue, 
renew  and  bless  it. 

4.  That  in  the  period  of  this  coming  he  will  raise  the  holy 
from  among  the  dead,  transform  the  living  that  are  waiting 
for  him,  judge  them  according  to  their  works,  receive  them 
up  to  himself  in  the  clouds,  and  establish  them  in  a  glorious 
heavenly  kingdom. 

5.  That  Christ  will  then  also  break  down  and  destroy  all 
present  systems  of  government  in  church  and  state,  burn  up 
the  great  centres  and  powers  of  wickedness  and  usurpation, 
shake  the  whole  earth  with  terrific  visitations  for  its  sins,  and 
subdue  it  to  his  own  personal  and  eternal  rule. 

6.  That  during  these  great  and  destructive  commotions, 
the  Jewish  race  shall  be  marvelously  restored  to  the  land  of 
their  fathers,  brought  to  embrace  Jesus  as  their  Messiah  and 
King,  delivered  from  their  enemies,  placed  at  the  head  of 

20* 


234  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

nations,  and  made  the  agents  of  unspeakable  blessings  to  tho 
world. 

7.  That  Christ  will  then  re-establish   the   throne  of   his 
father  David,  exalt  it  in  heavenly  glory,  make  Mount  Zion 
the  seat  of  his  divine  empire,  and,  with  the  glorified  saints 
associated  with  him  in  his  dominion,  reign  over  the  house  of 
Jacob  and  over  the  world  in  a  visible,  sublime  and  heavenly 
Christocracy  for  the  period  of  "  the  thousand  years." 

8.  That  during   this   millennial  reign  in  which    mankind 
are  brought  under  a  new  dispensation,  Satan  is  to  be  bound 
and  the  world  enjoy  its  long-expected  Sabbatic  rest. 

9.  That   at   the   end  of  this  millennial  Sabbath  the   last 
rebellion  shall  be  quashed,  the  wicked  dead,  who  shall  all 
continue  in  Hades  until  that  time,  shall  be  raised  and  judged, 
and    Satan,    Death,    Hades,    and   all   antagonisms    to   good, 
delivered  over  to  eternal  destruction.     And — 

10.  That,  under  these  wonderful  administrations,  the  earth 
is  to  be  entirely  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  fall,  the 
excellence  of  God's  righteous  providence  vindicated,  the  whole 
curse  repealed,  death  swallowed  up,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  world  thenceforward  forever  restored  to  more  than  the  full 
happiness,  purity  and  glory  which  Adam  forfeited  in  Eden. 

Such  is  my  learning  of  the  Scriptures,  and  such  is  my 
solemn  belief  upon  these  momentous  themes.  Some  may  be 
disposed  to  brand  it  as  the  old  heresy  of  Cerinthus ;  some 
may  classify  it  with  the  doctrines  of  the  seditious  Anabaptists 
of  Luther's  day;  and  not  a  few  may  stigmatize  it  as  "  Miller- 
ism."  But,  call  it  what  you  please,  with  my  present  light 
it  is  my  faith ;  and  I  propose  to  show  you  that  such  was  the 
faith  of  the  universal  orthodox  church  in  the  purest  periods 
of  its  history.  But,  lest  it  should  be  derided  with  names 
which  it  does  not  deserve,  let  me  make  an  observation  or  two 
with  regard  to  the  parties  just  named. 

Cerinthus  was  the  contemporary  of  the  Apostle  John.     It 


THE   ANABAPTISTS.  235 

is  a  question  now,  among  learned  men,  whether  he  ever  did 
teach  the  carnal  notions  which  are  ascribed  to  him.  It  is 
recorded  of  him,  however,  that  he  "  falsely  pretended  to  won- 
derful things,  as  if  they  had  been  shown  him  by  angels,  assert- 
ing that  after  the  resurrection  there  would  be  an  earthly 
kingdom  of  Christ,  and  that  the  flesh,  (or  man  again  united 
with  flesh,)  again  inhabiting  Jerusalem,  would  be  subject  to 
desires  and  pleasures ;"  that,  "  being  an  enemy  of  the  divine 
Scriptures,  he  said  there  would  be  a  space  of  a  thousand 
years  for  celebrating  nuptial  festivals;"  that  "he  taught  that 
Christ  would  have  an  earthly  kingdom,  aud,  as  he  was  a 
voluptuary  and  altogether  sensual,  he  conjectured  that  it 
would  consist  in  those  things  that  he  craved  in  the  gratifica- 
tion of  appetite  and  lust."  If  these  things  are  true,  which 
is  very  questionable,  it  has  been  well  for  Christians  that  they 
never  permitted  themselves  to  be  carried  away  with  such  gross 
and  plainly  unscriptural  carnalities.  The  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  not  meat  and  drink,  marrying  or  giving  in  marriage.  The 
children  of  the  resurrection  are  never  to  return  to  this  fleshly 
and  sensual  life,  but  are  to  have  spiritual  bodies,  and  inhabit 
a  city  "  not  made  with  hands,"  and  be  kings  and  priests  unto 
God,  blessed  and  holy  forever. 

The  Anabaptists  were  a  fanatical  and  seditious  people,  with 
whom  no  sound  Christian  can  sympathize.  Mosheina  says, 
"  They  gave  themselves  out  for  the  messengers  of  heaven,  to 
lay  the  foundations  of  a  new  government,  and  to  destroy  and 
overturn  all  temporal  rule  and  authority, — all  human  and 
political  institutions.  Having  turned  all  things  into  confusion 
and  uproar  in  the  city  of  Munster  by  this  seditious  declara- 
tion, they  began  to  erect  a  new  republic  conformable  to  their 
absurd  and  chimerical  notions  of  religion,  and  committed  the 
administration  of  it  to  John  Bockholt,  a  tailor  by  profession  !" 
Milner  says,  "  They  taught  the  people  to  despise  their  lawful 
rulers,  and  the  salutary  regulations  by  which  all  communities 


236  THE    LAST    TIMES. 

exist.  Everywhere  it  was  the  cry  of  these  enthusiastic  vision- 
aries, No  tribute ;  all  things  in  common  ;  no  tithes ;  no  magis- 
trates ;  the  baptism  of  infants  is  an  invention  of  the  devil  I" 
From  such  delusion,  fanaticism  and  blasphemy  may  the  Lord 
ever  preserve  us !  And  yet  with  such  people  we  are  often 
classed  when  we  undertake  to  declare  the  real  gospel  doctrine 
of  Christ's  coming  and  kingdom. 

The  late  Mr.  Miller,  of  whom  we  heard  so  much  a  few  years 
ago,  was  doubtless  a  simple-minded,  honest  and  pious  man. 
But  he  was  comparatively  illiterate,  imaginative  and  enthu- 
siastic. He  did  not  fully  grasp  the  sweep,  order,  consistency 
and  grandeur  of  God's  purposes  as  they  are  presented  in  the 
Scriptures.  He  believed  that  this  world  was  to  be  burned  up 
and  depopulated  of  all  its  present  orders  of  inhabitants.  He 
taugut  that,  none  were  to  exist  on  the  earth  after  Christ's 
coming  but  the  church  of  the  first-born  in  their  glorified  state, 
who  should  again  return  to  a  physical  form  of  life,  plant  vine- 
yards, build  houses,  and  carry  on  many  of  the  pursuits  of  life 
somewhat  as  we  now  have  them.  He  had  no  consistent  views 
of  Christ's  reign  over  the  nations,  and  denied  all  probation 
after  Christ's  coming.  He  was  carried  away  with  some  crude 
calculations  of  prophetic  dates,  upon  which  he  relied  too  con- 
fidently. He  was  disappointed  in  some  of  the  leading  par- 
ticulars upon  which  he  gained  his  notoriety.  But  neither 
prophecy  nor  the  students  of  prophecy  are  responsible  for  his 
mistakes.  And  to  make  all  deductions  from  prophecy  bear 
the  odium  and  ridicule  excited  by  the  vagaries  of  uninformed 
and  deluded  men,  is  neither  sensible,  pious,  nor  respectful  to 
the  word  of  God.  We  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  crudities 
and  wild  imaginings  of  a  sensual  Cerinthus,  the  fanatical  Ana- 
baptist, or  the  unbalanced  Father  Miller.  Our  business  is 
with  what  God  has  written  for  our  learning  and  with  the 
interpretations  of  those  who  were  the  least  likely  to  be  mis- 
taken in  regard  to  the  leading  features  of  God's  revelations., 


THE    TESTIMONY    OP   THE   CHURCH-BARNABAS.         237 

Let  us,  then,  proceed  with  our  task,  and  endeavor  to  ascer- 
tain the  views  and  teachings  of  the  early  Christians  with  re- 
gard to  the  doctrines  of  these  discourses.  What  expectations 
were  formed  of  the  Messiah  at  his  first  coming,  and  how 
Christ  and  his  apostles  proceeded  respecting  those  expecta- 
tions, I  have  already  set  forth.  In  other  words,  I  have  given 
you  the  inspired  Scriptures  for  every  thing  that  I  have  thus 
far  said.  This  alone  is,  or  ought  to  be,  sufficient.  But  as 
there  is  disagreement  as  to  the  manner  in  which  those  pas- 
sages are  to  be  understood,  I  will  give  you  the  proof  that  the 
best  Christian  authority  is  in  favor  of  the  interpretations 
which  I  have  maintained. 

The  first  witness  I  produce  is  Barnabas,  a  Levite  of  the 
country  of  Cyprus,  and  one  of  those  who  sold  their  possessions 
and  laid  the  money  at  the  apostles'  feet.  Luke  says  that 
"he  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  He  was 
the  companion  and  fellow-preacher  with  the  Apostle  Paul. 
He  has  left  an  epistle  which  learned  men  think  was  written 
before  the  Epistle  of  Jude  or  the  writings  of  John.  A  few 
have  considered  it  apocryphal ;  but  Vossius,  Dupuis,  Cave, 
Mill,  Clarke,  "Whiston,  Wake,  and  most  of  those  competent  to 
judge  in  the  case,  esteem  it  the  genuine  production  of  Barna- 
bas the  Levite,  so  honorably  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures. 
At  all  events,  it  belongs  to  early  Christian  antiquity,  and  is  a 
competent  witness  as  to  what  were  the  views  then  entertained. 

In  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  this  epistle  we  find  it  written : — 
"  God  made  in  six  days  the  works  of  his  hands,  and  he  finished 
them  the  seventh  day,  and  he  rested  the  seventh  day  and 
sanctified  it.  Consider,  my  children,  what  that  signifies  :  he 
finished  them  in  six  days.  The  meaning  of  it  is  this :  that 
in  six  thousand  years  the  Lord  uriU  bring  all  things  to  an  end. 
For  with  him  one  day  is  a  tlwusand  years,  as  himself  testi- 
fieth.  Therefore,  children,  in  six  days — that  is,  in  six  thou- 
sand years — shall  all  things  be  accomplished.  And  what  is 


238  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

that  he  saith,  And  he  rested  the  seventh  day?  He  mcancth 
this  :  that  when  his  Son  sJiall  come,  and  abolish  tJie  season  of 
the  wicked  one,  and  judge  the  ungodly,  and  shall  change  the 
sun,  moon  and  stars,  THEN  he  shall  gloriously  rest  in  that 
seventh  day.  .  .  .  Behold,  he  will  then  truly  sanctify  it  with 
blessed  rest,  when  ice  (having  received  THE  RIGHTEOUS 
PROMISE,  ichen  iniquity  shall  be  no  more,  ALL  THINGS  BEING 
RENEWED  BY  THE  LORD)  shall  be  able  to  sanctify  it,  being 
ourselves  first  made  holy." 

In  these  words  it  is  plainly  taught : — 

1.  That  Christ  is  to  come  again  personally  to  our  world  at 
the  end  of  the  six  thousand  years. 

2.  That  the  wicked  one  and  his  domination  will  remain  in 
existence  until  Christ  conies. 

3.  That  the  seventh  thousand  years  of  the  world  is  to  be 
a  millennium  of  holy  rest,  in  which  the  saints  are  to  inherit 
their  promises  and  iniquity  be  done  away;  aud — 

4.  That  this  millennium  of  glory  is  to  be  introduced  by  the 
personal  coming  of  the  Messiah  to  abolish  the  empire  of  the 
wicked  one,  judge  the  ungodly,  change  the  present  constitu- 
tion of  things  and  renew  the  world. 

Such,  then,  is  the  testimony  of  that  "good  man,"  the 
companion  and  fellow  of  the  Apostle  Paul. 

A  second  witness  is  Clement,  whom  Paul  mentions  among 
his  "  fellow-laborers,  whose  names  are  in  the  book  of  life." 
In  such  high  repute  were  his  writings  held,  that  they  are 
found  included  in  one  of  the  oldest  collections  of  Xew  Testa- 
ment writings  as  a  part  of  the  sacred  canon.  He  does  not 
refer  to  our  subject  as  directly  as  Barnabas ;  but  there  can  be 
no  doubt  of  his  having  entertained  the  same  views.  Dr. 
Hamilton  of  Strathblane,  in  a  work  against  the  students  of 
prophecy,  puts  him  down  as  evidently  a  millennarian ;  that 
is,  one  who  believes  in  the  personal  reign  of  Christ  with  his 
saints  on  earth.  He  connected  "  the  great  and  glorious 


PAPIAS   AND   JUSTIN    MARTYR.  239 

promises"  made  to  the  people  of  God  with  the  promise  that 
"  the  whole  earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  glory  of  the  Lord." 
He  taught  that  "we  shall  come  to  judgment  in  the  flesh,  and 
so  also  in  the  flesh  receive  the  reward."  He  also  identified 
the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  Grod  with  "  the  day  of  God's 
appearing"  and  exhorted  his  readers  hourly  to  expect,  wait 
and  pray  for  it,  that  they  might  "enter  into  his  kingdom  and 
receive  the  promises."  And  if  there  is  any  weight  to  be 
attached  to  his  apprehensions  of  divine  truth,  it  goes  decidedly 
in  favor  of  our  doctrines. 

The  next  witness  is  Papias,  the  disciple  of  the  Apostle 
John  and  a  companion  of  Polycarp.  Eusebius  speaks  unfa- 
vorably of  his  judgment  in  one  place;  but  elsewhere  pro- 
nounces him  "  eloquent  and  learned  in  the  Scriptures."  He 
himself  says  that  he  had  most  assiduously  collected  all  that 
could  be  gathered  of  the  teachings  and  sayings  of  Christ  and 
the  apostles.  He  certainly  had  every  opportunity  of  knowing 
the  truth.  And  he  has  recorded  it  as  his  belief,  and  as  con- 
tained in  what  he  had  collected  from  the  fountains  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine,  that  "  there  will  be  a  certain  millennium  AFTER 
THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  DEAD,  when  Christ  will  reign 
BODILY  (personally}  upon  this  very  earth." 

We  come  now  to  Justin  the  martyr,  who  was  born  ten 
years  before  the  death  of  the  Apostle  John.  Mosheim  calls 
him  "  a  man  of  eminent  piety  and  learning,  who,  from  a  pagan 
philosopher,  became  a  Christian  martyr."  In  his  Dialogue 
with  Trypho,  he  says,  "I,  AND  AS  MANY  AS  ARE  ORTHODOX 
CHRISTIANS,  do  acknowledge  that  there  shall  lie  a  resurrection 
of  the  body,  and  a  residence  of  a  thousand  years  in  Jerusalem 
rebuilt,  adorned  and  enlarged,  as  the  prophets  Ezekiel,  Isaiah 
and  others  do  unanimously  attest.  .  .  .  Moreover,  a  certain  man 
among  us,  whose  name  was  John,  one  of  the  apostles  of  CJirist, 
in  a  revelation  made  to  him,  did  prophesy  that  the  faithful 
believers  in  Christ  shall  live  a  thousand  years  in  the  New 


240  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

Jerusalem,  and  AFTER  THAT  shall  be  the  general  resurrection 
and  judgment."  Not  only  does  Justin  here  declare  himself 
a  believer  in  our  doctrines,  but,  as  Semisch  (in  Herzog's 
Cyclopedia)  says,  he  "  distinguishes  that  belief  as  the  key- 
stone of  orthodoxy." 

The  testimony  of  the  distinguished  Irenaeus  is  also  of  par- 
ticular value.  He  was  the  disciple  of  Polycarp,  the  pupil  of 
the  Apostle  John.  It  has  justly  been  said  that,  "  for  learning, 
steadfastness  and  zeal,  he  was  among  the  most  renowned  of 
the  early  fathers."  Mosheim  says  that  his  writings  are  "  the 
most  precious  monuments  of  ancient  erudition."  His  tutor, 
Polycarp,  was  one  of  those  "  angels"  to  whom  the  Savior  ad- 
dressed one  of  the  seven  epistles  recorded  in  John's  revela- 
tion. He  was  a  most  diligent  collector  of  all  that  was  to  be 
known  of  what  Christ  and  his  apostles  taught.  Irenscus 
regarded  him  with  peculiar  veneration,  and  says  of  his 
teachings,  "  I  remember  his  discourses  concerning  the  conver- 
sations he  had  with  John  the  apostle  and  others  who  had  seen 
the  Lord;  how  he  rehearsed  their  discourses,  and  what  he 
heard  them  say  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  miracles  and  doc- 
trine." Irengeus,  therefore,  had  good  means  of  knowing 
what  ideas  the  sacred  writers  attached  to  their  own  writings, 
and  what  ideas  and  hopes  the  Spirit  through  them  inculcated 
respecting  God's  great  purposes.  Hear,  then,  what  this 
learned  and  devout  man  has  said  concerning  our  doctrine : — 

"  In  whatever  number  of  days  the  world  was  created,  in  the 
same  number  of  thousands  of  years  it  will  come  to  its  consum- 
mation. God,  on  the  sixth  day,  finished  the  works  which  he 
made ;  and  God  rested  on  the  seventh  day  from  all  his  works. 
This  is  a  history  of  the  past  and  a  prophecy  of  the  future ;  for 
' the  day  of  the  Lord  is  as  a  thousand  years' "  Here  is  a 
distinct  announcement  of  the  millennial  Sabbath.  As  to 
where  it  is  to  be  celebrated,  he  is  equally  clear.  "It  is 
fitting,"  says  he,  "  that  the  just,  rising  again  at  the  appear- 


IREN.EUS    AND    TERTULLIAN.  241 

ance  of  God,  should,  in  (he  renewed  state,  receive  the  promise 
of  inheritance  ichich  God  covenanted  to  the  fathers,  and 
should  reign  in  it;  and  (hat  then  should  follow  the  final 
judgment.  For,  in  the  same  condition  in  which  they  have 
labored  and  been  afflicted,  and  been  tried  by  sufferings  in  all 
sorts  of  ways,  it  is  but  just  that  in  it  they  should  receive  the 
fruits  of  their  sufferings,  so  that  where,  for  the  love  of  God 
they  suffered  death,  there  they  should  be  brought  to  life  again; 
and  where  they  endured  bondage,  there  also  they  should  reign. 
....  I  say  it  is  becoming  that  the  creation,  being  restored 
to  its  original  beauty,  should,  without  any  impediment  or 
drawback,  be  subject  to  the 'righteous.  This  the  apostle  makes 
manifest  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro.nans Thus,  there- 
fore, as  God  promised  to  Abraham  the  inheritance  of  the  earth, 
and  he  received  it  not  during  the  whole  time  he  lived,  it  is 
necessary  that  he  should  receive  it,  together  with  his  seed,  that 
is,  with  such  of  them  as  fear  God,  and  believe  in  him,  IN 
THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  JUST They  will  un- 
doubtedly receive  it  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just :  for  true 
and  unchangeable  is  God ;  wherefore  he  also  said,  Blessed  aro 
the  meek,  for  they  shall  inlierit  THE  EARTH." 

Four  things  are  here  asserted  :  first,  that  Christ  will  really 
appear  at  the  end  of  the  six  thousand  years ;  second,  that  the 
millennium  comes  after  the  Savior's  advent;  third,  that  there 
is  to  be  a  resurrection  of  the  just  at  the  beginning  of  the  mil- 
lennium ;  and,  fourth,  that  Christ  is  to  reign  with  his  saints 
in  this  world.  Such  is  the  testimony  of  Irenams,  the  pupil 
of  Polycarp  and  Papias,  the  disciples  of  the  Apostle  John. 

We  come  now  to  Tertullian,  the  eminent  contemporary  of 
Irenaeus,  a  man  of  eloquence  and  learning,  who,  with  all  his 
faults,  had  many  excellencies.  His  testimony  is  equally  con- 
spicuous and  positive.  "We  also  confess,"  says  he,  "that  a, 
kingdom  is  promised  us  on  earth,  AFTER  THE  RESURRECTION; 
for  it  will  be  for  a  thousand  years  in  a  city  of  divine  work- 
Q  21 


242  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

manship,  viz. :  Jerusalem  brought  down  from  heaven,  which 
city  Ezekiel  knew,  and  the  Apostle  John  saw.  This  is  the 
city  provided  of  God  to  receive  the  saints  in  the  resurrection, 
wherein  to  refresh  themselves  with  all  spiritual  good  things, 
in  recompense  of  those  which  in  the  world  we  have  despised 
and  lost."  He  also  testifies  that  it  was  the  custom  of  his 
times  for  Christians  to  pray  that  they  might  have  part  in  the 
first  resurrection  j  thus  showing  that  this  was  the  general  and 
firm  belief  of  his  time. 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  the  contemporary  of  Tertullian, 
whom  Eusebius  designates  as  an  "  incomparable  master  of  the 
Christian  philosophy,"  also  refers  to  the  mystic  sanctity  of  the 
seventh  day,  as  pointing  in  the  estimation  of  both  Hebrews 
and  Greeks  to  the  final  revolution  of  the  world  and  the  reno- 
vation of  all  things. 

Cyprian,  the  great  bishop  of  Carthage,  who  scaled  his  faith 
with  his  blood,  also  alludes  to  the  subject  in  a  way  leaving  no 
doubt  that  he  apprehended  the  Scriptures  in  the  same  man- 
ner. "  In  the  divine  arrangement  of  the  world,"  says  he, 
"  seven  days  were  at  first  employed,  and  in  them  seven  thou- 
sand years  were  included."  This  implies  the  doctrine  of  the 
millennial  Sabbath  •  and,  taking  it  in  connection  with  his  ex- 
pectation of  the  future  honors  of  the  martyrs,  and  his  decla- 
ration that  in  this  world  "  things  evil  and  adverse  shall  in- 
crease until  the  end  come  as  foretold,"  we  cannot  suppose  that 
he  differed  on  this  subject  from  the  distinguished  teachers 
who  went  before  him  and  whose  disciple  he  claimed  to  be. 

We  have  now  brought  down  our  list  of  testimonies  to  the 
end  of  the  second  century  after  Christ.  I  have  given  you  the 
language  of  the  most  pious  and  distinguished  Christian  teach- 
ers who  lived  during  that  time.  And  without  one  dissenting 
voice  among  them,  we  here  have,  as  their  unanimous  appre- 
hension of  the  Scriptures  and  of  what  Christ  and  his  apostles 
taught,— 


THE    PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANS    MILLENARIAXS.          243 

1.  That  there  is  to  be  a  millennial  Sabbath  at  the  end  of 
six  thousand  years  from  the  creation  of  Adam,  in  which  the 
world  shall  joyfully  rest  from  its  long  week  of  turmoil  and 
disorder. 

2.  That  the  personal  and  final  advent  of  Christ,  and  the 
resurrection  of  the  holy  dead,  shall  occur  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  millennium. 

3.  That  Christ  is  to  reign  with  his  saints  in  glorious  empire 
upon  this  earth.     And, — 

4.  That  all  sublunary  things,  embracing  the  entire  lower 
creation,  are  to  undergo  a  universal  renovation,  and  be  restored 
to  their  original  excellence  and  glory. 

Nor  was  there  any  acknowledged  Christian,  until  The  time 
of  Origen,  in  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  that  ever 
recorded  any  other  faith  upon  this  subject.  We  may  safely 
challenge  all  the  research  of  the  world  to  produce  one  single 
orthodox  opposing  testimony  prior  to  the  days  of  Origen,  than 
whom,  Milner  says,  "  no  man  not  altogether  unsound  and  hy- 
pocritical ever  more  injured  the  church  of  Christ."  Indeed, 
the  evidence  that  these  views  were  a  vital  and  prominent  part 
of  the  faith  of  Christians  for  the  first  ages  is  so  clear  and 
conspicuous  that  I  do  not  know  that  any  scholar  has  ever  ven- 
tured to  contradict  the  fact.  Let  me  submit  to  you  some 
statements  of  learned  men  upon  the  subject. 

The  well-known  infidel  historian,  Edward  Gibbon,  has  this 
statement : — "  The  ancient  and  popular  doctrine  of  the  mil- 
lennium was  intimately  connected  with  the  second  coming  of 
Christ.  As  the  works  of  the  creation  had  been  finished  in 
six  days,  their  duration  in  their  present  state,  according  to  a 
tradition  which  was  attributed  to  the  prophet  Elijah,  was  fixed 
to  six  thousand  years.  By  the  same  analogy  it  was  inferred 
that  this  long  period  of  labor  and  contention  would  be  sue 
ceeded  by  a  joyful  Sabbath  of  a  thousand  years;  and  that 
Christ,  with  the  triumphant  band  of  the  saints  and  the  elect 


214  TIIE   LAST   TIMES. 

who  had  escaped  death,  or  who  had  been  miraculously  revived, 
would  reign  upon  earth The  assurance  of  such  a  mil- 
lennium teas  carefully  inculcated  by  a  succession  of  fathers 
from  Justin  Martyr  and  .Irenaeus,  who  conversed  with  the 
immediate  disciples  of  the  apostles,  down  to  Lactantius,  who 
was  preceptor  to  the  son  of  Constantine.  IT  APPEARS  TO 

HAVE  BEEN  THE  REIGNING  SENTIMENT  OF  THE  ORTHODOX 
BELIEVERS." 

This  Lactantius,  to  whom  Gibbon  refers,  lived  in  the  early 
part  of  the  fourth  century.  Mosheim  pronounces  him  "  the 
most  learned  of  the  Latin  fathers."  He  was  known  in  his 
time  as  "  the  Christian  Cicero."  His  sentiments  upon  this  sub- 
ject deserve  to  be  presented  among  our  testimonies.  "When 
God  shall  come  to  judge  the  world,"  says  he,  "and  shall 
restore  unto  life  the  just  that  have  been  since  the  beginning, 
he  shall  converse  among  men  a  thousand  years,  and  rule  them 

•with  a  most  righteous  government And  they  that 

shall  be  raised  from  the  dead  shall  be  over  the  living  as  judges. 
And  the  Gentiles  shall  not  be  utterly  extinguished ;  but  some 

shall  be  left  for  the  victory  of  God About  the  same 

time  the  prince  of  devils,  the  forger  of  all  evil,  shall  be  bound 
with  chains,  and  shall  be  in  custody  all  the  thousand  years  of 
the  heavenly  empire  under  which  righteousness  shall  reign  over 
the  world."  Such,  then,  according  to  Gibbon,  were  "  the 
reigning  sentiments  of  orthodox  believers"  for  more  than 
three  centuries  of  the  Christian  era. 

The  celebrated  Chillingworth  says,  "  That  this  doctrine  (of 
the  millennium  and  Christ's  personal  reign  on  earth)  was  by 
the  church  of  the  next  age  after  the  apostles  held  true  and 
catholic,  I  prove  by  these  two  reasons : — first,  whatever  doc- 
trine is  believed  and  taught  by  the  most  eminent  fathers  of 
any  age  of  the  church,  and  by  none  of  their  contemporaries 
opposed  or  condemned,  that  is  to  be  esteemed  the  catholic 
doctrine  of  the  church  of  those  times ;  but  the  doctrine  of  the 


CONCURRING   AUTHORITIES.  245 

millenaries  was  believed  and  taught  Ixj  the  most  eminent 
fathers  of  the  age  next  after  the  apostles,  and  by  none  of  that 
age  opposed  or  condemned;  therefore  IT  WAS  THE  CATHOLIC 

DOCTRINE    OF   THOSE   TIMES." 

Mosheirn  says,  "  The  prevailing  opinion,  that  Christ  was  to 
come  and  reign  a  thousand  years  among  men  before  the  final 
dissolution  of  the  world,  had  met  icith  no  opposition  previous 
to  the  time  of  Origen." 

Burton  says,  "  It  cannot  be  denied  that  Papias,  Irengeus, 
Justin  Martyr,  and  all  the  other  ecclesiastical  writers,  be- 
lieved, literally,  that  the  saints  would  rise  in  the  first  resur- 
rection, and  reign  with  Christ  upon  earth  previous  to  the 
general  resurrection." 

Munscher  says,  "  How  widely  the  doctrine  of  millenarian- 
ism  prevailed  in  the  first  centuries  of  Christianity,  appears 
from  this,  that  it  icas  universally  received  by  almost  all 
teachers." 

Grieseler  says  of  the  first  centuries,  "  Millenarianism  be- 
came the  general  belief  of  the  time." 

Newton  says,  "  The  doctrine  of  the  millennium  was  gene- 
rally believed  in  the  three  first  and  purest  ages." 

Semisch  says,  "The  ancients  expected  a  kingdom  in  this 
world,  in  which  Christ,  after  his  coming,  should  reign  with 
his  risen  and  glorified  saints ;  that  he  would  visibly  return  in 
order  to  establish  a  terrestrial  theocracy  as  the  centre  of  a 
dominion  over  the  world ;  that  he  would  destroy  the  kingdom 
of  Antichrist,  and  subjugate  such  worldly  powers  as  are  sus- 
ceptible of  being  fashioned  for  the  divine  kingdom;  that 
there  would  be  a  distinction  in  the  resurrection,  first  the  re- 
surrection of  the  saints  for  the  divine  kingdom,  and  after- 
wards the  rest  of  the  dead  at  the  final  judgment;  that  there 
would  then  be  perfect  happiness  of  soul  and  sense,  and  the 
glorified  saints  reign  together  over  unglorified  humanity." 

But  I  will  not  trouble  you  with  needless  repetitions.  What 
91* 


246  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

these  authors  have  said  is  just  what  multitudes  of  others 
equally  learned  and  disinterested  have  declared.  Russel,  and 
Bush,  and  Lardner,  and  Whitby,  and  Neander,  and  Mede,  and 
Kitto,  and  Maitland,  and  Taylor,  and  Milner,  and  Barnes,  the 
encyclopedias  and  reviews,  friends  and  enemies,  ancients  and 
moderns,  admit  and  declare  the  fact,  that  the  church  of  Christ, 
for  the  first  two  centuries  after  the  inspired  apostles,  was  uni- 
versally millenarian,  and  that  she  substantially  believed  and 
taught  all  that  I  have  brought  forward  in  these  discourses.  I 
have  not  been  preaching  novelties,  as  some  have  been  disposed 
to  think.  I  have  been  giving  you  only  what  I  find  in  the 
blessed  Bible, — what  those  believed  and  taught  who  made  the 
Bible, — and  what  all  the  true  believers  in  the  revelations  of 
Grod,  for  more  than  two  hundred  years  after  Christ,  accepted  as 
the  teaching  of  that  holy  book.  And  if  I  have  not  proven  to 
you  that  the  millenarian  faith  was  the  orthodox  faith  of  primi- 
tive Christianity,  there  is  no  weight  in  testimony.  Ask  the 
fathers,  and  they  will  show  you — the  elders,  and  they  will  tell 
you.  And  if  the  church  of  our  day  is  to  keep  to  the  simplici- 
ties of  those  early  times  after  which  she  professes  to  pattern, 
she  must  hold  to  the  personal  reign  of  Christ  with  his  saints 
on  earth  as  one  of  her  sublimest  hopes. 

It  is  a  sad  fact,  however,  that  from  the  fourth  century  until 
the  sixteenth  this  doctrine  gradually  lost  its  hold  upon  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  professed  Christians,  and  went  down  into  almost 
absolute  neglect.  But  with  it  went  down  the  great  doctrine 
of  justification  by  faith,  and  nearly  every  thing  that  is  dis- 
tinguishing in  gospel  religion.  IT  FELL  ONLY  AS  POPERY 
ROSE ;  and  it  is  only  as  it  rises  again  that  popery  shall  shrink 
and  quail.  So  long  as  men  think  they  see  and  hear  Christ  in 
the  pope,  and  believe  that  they  are  worshipping  and  honoring 
Christ  by  serving  and  obeying  hierarchies  regarded  as  jure 
divino,  we  need  never  expect  them  to  believe  that  Christ  will 
ever  reign  here  in  person.  The  two  ideas  are  fundamentally 


HOW   MILLENARIANISM    DECLINED.  247 

antagonistic.  If  Christ  is  himself  to  reign  here  in  universal 
empire,  he  has  not  given  that  empire  into  the  hands  of  a  vicar ; 
and  if  he  has  made  the  pope  the  supreme  lord  of  the  world, 
it  is  settled  that  he  will  never  reign  here  otherwise  than  by 
the  pope.  Either  proposition  confutes  the  other.  The  two 
cannot  live  together.  And  this  puts  into  our  hands  the  key 
to  the  true  explanation  how  the  church  has  come  to  lose  sight 
of  the  primitive  and  apostolic  faith  upon  this  subject. 

The  processes  by  which  millenarian  doctrine  was  gradually 
reduced  to  disrepute  and  neglect  are  at  once  curious  and 
deplorable.  Mosheini  says  that  "  its  credit  began  to  decline 
principally  through  the  influence  and  authority  of  Origen, 
who  opposed  it  with  the  greatest  warmth,  because  it  was  in- 
compatible icith  some  of  his  favorite  sentiments."  So,  then, 
there  was  something  sinister  in  the  very  root  of  anti-uiil- 
lenarianism.  And  yet  Origen  could  not  bring  himself  to 
renounce  the  primitive  belief  altogether.  "We  do  not  deny/' 
says  he,  "  the  purging  fire  of  the  destruction  of  wickedness 
and  the  renovation  of  all  things.  ...  If  any  man  shall  pre- 
serve the  washing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  shall  have  his  part 
•in  the  Jirst  resurrection.  .  .  .  Wherefore,  let  us  lay  the 
Scriptures  to  heart,  and  make  them  the  rule  of  our  lives ; 
that  so,  being  cleansed  from  the  defilement  of  sin  before  we 
depart  hence,  we  may  be  raised  up  with  the  saints,  and  have 
our  lot  with  Christ  Jesus."  After  all,  then,  it  was  more 
the  wild  caricatures  of  our  doctrine  than  the  doctrine  itself 
upon  which  the  burden  of  his  opposition  fell.  And  just  so 
Augustine  says,  that  the  first  resurrection  and  reign  of  the 
thousand  years  "would  indeed  be  tolerable,  if  it  should  be 
believed  that  spiritual  delights  should  redound  to  the  saints 
in  that  Sabbath  by  the  presence  of  the  Lord ;  for  we  also  our- 
selves formerly  were  of  that  opinion.  What  induced  him  to 
change  his  mind  we  know  not.  Perhaps  he  also  had  some 
favorite  notions  to  support !  Even  Jerome,  that  "  unmerciful 


248  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

scoffer"  (as  Ward  calls  him)  at  our  doctrine,  is  obliged  to 
admit  some  of  its  leading  features,  and  acknowledges  that  lie 
11  durst  not  condemn  it,  because  many  ecclesiastical  persons  and 
martyrs  affirmed  the  same." 

There  are,  as  I  apprehend,  three  great  causes  to  which  we 
are  to  attribute  the  decline  and  fall  of  ancient  millenarianism. 
The  first  and  greatest  was  that  mystical  and  allegorical  method 
of  interpreting  the  Scriptures  which  Origen  set  on  foot,  and 
which  has  done  more  mischief  to  the  cause  of  evangelical 
religion  than  all  the  assaults  of  its  enemies.  Mosheim  says 
that  this  "unhappy  method  opened  a  secure  retreat  for  all  sorts 
of  errors  that  a  wild  and  irregular  imagination  could  bring 
forth.  Believing  it  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to 
defend  the  sacred  writings  when  interpreted  literally,  accord- 
ing to  the  real  import  of  the  words,  he  had  recourse  to  the 
fecundity  of  a  lively  imagination,  and  maintained  that  the 
Holy  Scriptures  were  to  be  interpreted  in  the  same  allegorical 
way  that  the  Platonists  explained  the  history  of  the  gods." 
Who  would  have  supposed  that  the  boasted  spiritualizing 
method  of  modern  theologians  had  its  origin  in  paganism  and 
heathen  mythology  ?  "  Origen  alleged  that  the  words  of 
Scripture  were,  in  many  places,  absolutely  void  of  sense!  and 
that  the  true  meaning  was  to  be  sought  in  a  mysterious  and 
hidden  sense  arising  from  the  nature  of  things  in  themselves." 
That  is  to  say,  in  plain  English,  we  must  first  form  our  con- 
clusions from  philosophy,  or  from  our  preconceptions  as  to 
how  things  ought  to  be,  and  then  interpret  the  Scriptures 
according  to  these  a  priori  conclusions  !  A  beautiful  system, 
truly,  for  ascertaining  the  meaning  of  God's  revelations  !  The 
results  of  its  adoption  may  easily  be  imagined.  There  are 
some  rich  specimens  of  its  operation  upon  record.  One  man 
found  hidden  meaning  enough  in  the  interjection  "0!"  to 
serve  him  for  seven  sermons !  Another  argued  eighty-two 
particulars  concerning  the  Bride  of  Christ  from  the  hroses  of 


ORKJE.N'S  METHOD  OF  INTERPRETATION.  249 

Pharaoh's  chariot !  Origen  himself  gives  the  meaning  of  the 
history  of  Moses  thus: — "The  king  of  Egypt  is  the  devil; 
the  male  and  female  children  of  the  Hebrews  are  the  rational 
and  animal  faculties  of  the  soul ;  the  ruidwives  are  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  Pharoah's  daughter  is  the  church ;  Moses 
is  the  law ;  the  ark  and  flags  in  which  he  was  found  are  the 
absurd  and  carnal  glosses  of  the  Jews,"  &c.  &c. 

I  am  thus  particular  in  showing  what  was  Origeu's  alle- 
gorical or  spiritual  method,  because,  as  Mosheirn  says,  "  it  was 
followed  by  a  prodigious  number  of  interpreters  in  that  and 
the  succeeding  ages,  and  overflowed  the  church ;" — a  system 
which,  to  this  hour,  more  or  less  palsies  and  disgraces  our 
hermeneutics.  Well  has  Dr.  Clarke  said  that  "every  friend 
of  rational  piety  and  genuine  Christianity  must  lament  that  a 
man  of  so  much  learning  and  unaffected  godliness  should  have 
been  led  to  countenance,  much  less  to  recommend,  a  plan  of 
interpreting  the  divine  oracles,  in  many  respects  the  most 
futile,  absurd  and  dangerous  that  can  possibly  be  conceived ; 
and  by  which  the  sacred  writings  may  be  obliged  to  say  any 
thing,  every  thing,  or  nothing,  according  to  the  fancy,  peculiar 
creed,  or  caprice  of  the  interpreter."  And  Milner  declares 
that  "  a  thick  mist  for  ages  pervaded  the  Christian  world, 
supported  by  Origen's  allegorical  manner  of  interpretation. 
The  learned  alone  were  considered  as  guides,  implicitly  to  be 
followed;  and  the  vulgar,  when  the  literal  sense  was  hissed  off 
the  stage,  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  follow  their  authority 
wherever  it  might  lead  them." 

This,  then,  was,  the  system,  "pernicious,"  "unhappy," 
"mischievous,"  "lamentable  to  every  friend  of  genuine 
Christianity,"  injurious  beyond  every  thing  else,  casting  dark- 
ness over  the  whole  field  of  inspired  truth,  throwing  un- 
certainty over  all  Christian  hope,  and,  in  the  hands  of  its  own 
author,  making  the  Bride  of  Christ  the  daughter  of  the  devil ! 
TIIIS  was  the  system  by  which  the  glorious  anticipations 


250  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

of  the  primitive  church  were  declared  mere  fable  !  THIS  is 
the  system  which  modern  Christians  may  thank  for  striking 
from  their  creed  the  sublime  hopes  of  this  world's  ultimate 
renovation  and  Christ's  personal  reign  over  it  in  eternal  peace ! 
I  should  think  that  the  school  of  spiritualizers  have  nothing 
to  boast  of  in  the  line  of  their  paternity. 

But  there  was  another  matter  relating  to  this  period,  the 
influence  of  which  gradually  increased  and  spread  through 
succeeding  ages,  prompting  men  to  lay  hold  of  any  artifice 
or  device  to  get  rid  of  the  primitive  millenarian  doctrine.  I 
refer  to  the  conversion  of  the  Emperor  Constantino,  and  the 
consequent  elevation  of  the  church  to  the  patronage  of  the 
civil  government.  "  It  was  the  constant  and  uniform  opinion 
of  the  church  previous  to  this  period,"  says  Brooks,  "that 
Rome  would  become  the  seat  of  Antichrist ;  that  the  empire 
would  be  divided  into  ten  kingdoms;  that  then  Antichrist 
would  be  revealed  and  prosper  for  a  time ;  and  that,  after  the 
reigning  power  should  have  suffered  a  signal  discomfiture,  the 
dominion  should  be  altogether  taken  from  the  Eternal  City. 
Such  a  notion  could  not  be  palatable  to  the  Roman  emperor, 
if  known  to  him ;  and  the  less  so  if  it  was  further  understood 
that  some  had  already  mused  in  their  hearts  whether  the 
emperor  himself  were  not  personally  the  Antichrist.  These 
things  must  have  been  very  perplexing  to  those  ecclesiastics 
now  mingling  with  the  court  who  were  of  a  compliant  and 
secular  spirit :  which  may  be  judged  of,  when  we  find  an 
honest,  bold  and  godly  man  like  Lactantius  expressing  him- 
self on  these  topics  with  avowed  reluctance.  .  .  .  The  con- 
venient explication,  however,  was  soon  discovered  and  adopted 
by  many,  that  Antichrist  was  pagan  Rome,  and  that  from  the 
date  of  Constantino's  conversion  the  millennium  commenced." 
A  strange  millennium  and  binding  of  Satan  that,  which  com- 
prised the  rancorous  dissensions,  bickerings,  persecutions  and 
mischievous  strifes  that  originated  in  the  Arian  controversy ! 


PERVERSIONS   OF   OUR   DOCTRINE.  251 

Yet  able  men  maintained  the  foolish  idea.  Others  betook 
themselves  to  the  work  of  raising  questions  to  obscure  the 
divine  authority  of  the  Apocalypse,  in  which  the  doctrine  of 
the  millennium  is  taught.  And  all  to  make  the  Christian 
creed  agreeable  to  the  pride  and  vanity  of  a  lloman  emperor ! 

After  a  while,  when  the  Bishop  of  Rome  came  to  be  ele- 
vated to  the  high  rank  of  universal  father,  the  embarrassment 
became  still  greater.  "The  inconvenience  of  explaining 
Rome  to  be  the  capital  city  of  Antichrist  was  more  sensibly 
felt  than  ever,  and  could  not  be  asserted  without  giving 
occasion  for  the  very  obvious  conclusion  that  the  bishop  of 
Rome  would  some  day  apostatize,  together  with  the  church  of 
which  he  was  the  head.  Accordingly,  from  the  time  of  Jus- 
tinian, efforts  were  both  openly  and  clandestinely  made  to  get 
rid  of  the  doctrine  altogether,  by  removing  or  corrupting  the 
evidence  in  its  favor,  or  by  affixing  to  it  the  stigma  of  heresy. 
Pope  Damascus  endeavored  peremptorily  to  put  it  down  by  a 
decree.  And  some  works  of  the  fathers  which  were  in  favor 
of  it  were  successfully  suppressed,  and  others  were  altered  or 
interpolated  to  make  them  read  as  was  desired."  (Brooks' 
Elements  of  Interpretation,  pp.  48-60.) 

You  will  thus  perceive  how  sycophancy,  villany,  corruption 
and  vanity  combined  with  Origen's  pernicious  obscurations 
of  holy  writ  for  the  suppression  of  the  primitive  and  apos- 
tolic doctrine  of  the  millennium. 

There  was  yet  another  particular  which  was  made  to  con- 
tribute materially  to  the  process  of  cheating  the  church  out 
of  its  ancient  hopes.  Like  all  other  doctrines  of  the  Bible, 
this  respecting  the  millennium  has  suffered  in  the  hands  of 
some  of  its  advocates.  Some  of  its  early  believers  spoke  of  it 
in  a  manner  liable  to  perversion,  or  connected  it  with  fancies 
or  fables  which  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Cerinthus  was  a 
heretic;  and  yet  he  had  advocated  the  doctrine  of  Christ's 
personal  reign  on  earth,  and  arrayed  its  scenes  in  the  fancies 


252  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

of  his  own  carnal  heart.  Here  was  a  fine  chance  to  stigma- 
tize the  whole  thing  as  a  sensual  and  heretical  dream,  which 
was  not  suffered  to  pass  unimproved.  Irenrcus  had  also  put 
upon  record  a  floating  story  that  the  earth,  in  the  millennuim, 
will  be  so  productive  that  "a  grain  of  wheat  will  produce  ten 
thousand  heads ;  and  each  head  will  yield  ten  thousand  grains; 
and  each  grain  will  yield  ten  pounds  of  flour;  and  other  fruits 
will  yield  seeds  and  herbage  in  the  same  proportion !"  &c. 
That  the  earth  will  be  extraordinarily  fruitful  in  the  good 
days  to  come,  is  distinctly  declared  in  the  Scriptures.  Joel 
says,  "The  mountains  shall  drop  down  new  wine,  and  the 
hills  flow  with  milk."  Yet  the  excessive  exaggerations  of  the 
matter  by  some  enthusiastic  persons  were  precious  morsels  for 
those  who  wished  to  destroy  the  millenarian  hopes.  On  other 
subjects,  wild  caricatures  furnished  no  ground  for  their  rejec- 
tion ;  but  upon  this  no  allowances  could  be  made.  And  then, 
as  now,  these  innocent  extravagances  were  most  unjustly,  but 
still  effectively,  paraded  around  by  the  opposers  of  our  doctrine, 
to  bring  it  into  disrepute,  and  to  defame  it  as  a  mere  fancy  of 
over-credulous  and  weak  people. 

Such,  then,  were  the  processes,  facilitated  by  the  growing 
corruptions  of  the  times,  by  which  the  doctrines  of  the  pri- 
mitive church  on  this  subject  were  suppressed  and  branded  as 
heresy.  Can  any  man  do  justice  to  himself,  or  to  the  revela- 
tions of  his  God,  and  not  appeal  from  a  decision  thus  brought 
about,  and  recoil  from  it  with  indignation  and  abhorrence  ?  It 
was  the  decision  of  sycophancy,  deceit  and  unholy  degrada- 
tions and  perversions  of  the  law  and  the  testimony.  And  yet 
the  Christian  world,  to  this  day,  has  not  recovered  from  it. 

But  God  did  not  leave  himself  without  witnesses.  From 
the  times  of  Origen  to  Augustin,  and  down  into  papal  ages, 
we  can  still  find  many  distinguished  names  whose  authority 
was  distinctly  given  in  favor  of  millenarian  views.  Among 
these  were  Apollinarius,  Lactantius,  Victorinus,  many  of  the 


THE   VIEAVS   OF   LUTHER.  253 

members  of  the  Council  of  Nice,  Epiphanius,  Paulinus,  Cris- 
pold,  Norbert  and  others.  But  the  ages  of  darkness  came. 
Star  after  star  went  out,  until  the  world  was  at  its  cloudy  mid- 
night. And  the  hope  of  the  millennial  reign,  with  all  other 
great  doctrines  of  the  Scripture,  slept,  until  God  called  Lu- 
ther, and  the  light  of  Christianity's  renewal  came. 

What  were  this  great  man's  views  upon  this  subject,  is  no- 
where specifically  given.  Yet  he  has  left  enough  on  record  to 
demonstrate  that  his  sentiments  differed  materially  from  those 
generally  prevalent. 

1.  His  method  of  interpreting  the  Scriptures  was  the  mil- 
lenarian  method.     On   Deuteronomy  he  says,  "  I  here  once 
more  repeat,  what  I  have  so  often  insisted  on,  that  the  Chris- 
tian should  direct  his  efforts  towards  understanding  the  so- 
called  literal  sense  of  Scripture,  which  alone  is  the  substance 
of  faith  and  of  Christian  theology, — which  alone  will  sustain 
him  in  the  hour  of  trouble  and  temptation, — and  which  will 
triumph  over  sin,  death  and  the  gates  of  hell,  to  the  praise 
and  glory  of  God.     The  allegorical  sense  is  usually  uncertain, 
and  by  no  means  safe  to  build  our  faith  upon ;  for  it  depends 
for  the  most  part  on  human  opinion  only,  on  which  if  a  man 
lean,  he  will  find  it  to  be  no  better  than  the  Egyptian  reed. 
Therefore,  ORIGEN,  Jerome,  and  similar  of  the  fathers,  are  to 
be  avoided,  with  the  whole  of  that  Alexandrian  school  which 
abounds  in  this  spe-cies  of  interpretation." 

2.  He  denied  that  there  will  be  a  millennium  of  universal 
righteousness   and    peace   before   Christ   comes.       He   says, 
"  They  (the  pope  and  his  rabble)  shall  be  preserved  until  the 
coming  of   Christ,  whose  most  bitter  enemies  they  are  and 
ever  have  been."     He  says  that  "  the  gospel  shall  continue  to 
be  preached  even  to  the  end  of  time,  but  not  so  as  that  all 
men  shall  repent  and  accept  of  it;  for  this  shall  never  be;  the 
devil  will  not  suffer  things  to  be  brought  so  far,  and  the  world 
without  him  is  the  enemy  of  the  word,  and  will  not  be  ad- 

22 


254  THE   LAST  TIMES. 

monished.  There  shall,  therefore,  be  and  remain  in  the  world 
manifold  perversions  of  faith  and  religion."  And  again  he 
says,  "  The  last  days  shall  be  days  of  unmeasured  wickedness, 
as  Christ  says,  '  When  the  Son  of  man  cometh,  shall  he  find 
faith  on  the  earth  ?' " 

3.  Luther  taught  that  the  earth  shall  be  restored  to  its 
original  excellence,  and  that  it  shall  be  the  residence  of  the 
glorified  saints.  On  2  Pet.  iii.  13,  he  says,  "  God  has  pro- 
mised through  the  prophets,  here  and  elsewhere,  that  he  will 
make  heaven  ancl  earth  new  again.  How  it  shall  be,  we 
know  not,  except  that  the  promise  is  that  heaven  and  earth 
shall  become  such  that  no  sin  shall  be  in  them,  but  righteous- 
ness only,  and  that  they  shall  be  the  residence  of  the  children 

of  God This  text  teaches  that  we  shall  live  upon  earth, 

and  that  the  entire  heaven  and  earth  shall  become  a  paradise 
of  God." 

4  Luther  spoke  of  Christ's  kingship  in  a  way  which  can 
be  justified  only  on  the  supposition  that  he  is  to  reign  literally 
and  personally  in  this  world.  On  the  second  Psalm  he  says, 
"Christ  was  appointed  King  upon  the  holy  Mount  Zion.  This 
is  particularly  to  be  remarked ;  for  the  Holy  Ghost  mentions 
the  corporeal  Zion,  that  we  may  be  assured  that  this  king  is 
divinely  appointed,  and  is  a  real  Man.  .  .  .  The  Person  and 
the  place  are  appointed  and  made  known.  The  Person  is  the 
Son  of  God,  and  he  is  King  in  Zion;  that  is,  the  Son  of 
David,  and  the  heir  of  David ;  and  he  who  was  promised  to 
David  to  be  the  King  over  the  circumcised  people  over  whom 
David  reigned.  We  are,  therefore,  to  expect  this  man  to 
teach  in  Zion,  and  to  reveal  himself  in  Zion,  because  he  is  ap- 
pointed of  God  to  be  King  of  Zion The  eternal  Father 

himself  crowned  him  to  be  King  of  Zion,  on,  Mount  Zion,  in 

the  city  of  Jerusalem He  is  the  Son  of  God,  yet  born  a 

man  corppreally,  that  he  might  receive  the  throne  of  his  father 
David,  and  rule  in  Zion."  The  present  form  of  Christ's  king- 


OF    MELANCTIION.  255 

dom  lie  describes  as  that  in  which  he  "  reigneth  no  otherwise 
than  as  master  of  a  hospital  amongst  the  sick,  poor,  and  dis- 
eased," but  as  to  be  followed  by  another  "of  glory  and  abso- 
lute felicity,  in  which  sin  with  its  attendants  shall  trouble 
man  no  more." 

5.  Luther  believed  that  the  great  purposes  of  God's  mercy 
would  reach  their  consummation  at  the  end  of  the  six  thou- 
sand years  from  the  creation,  according  to  the  saying  of  Elias 
and  the  belief  of  the  primitive  church. 

6.  Luther  believed  and  taught  that  this  consummation  was 
to  be  expected  every  day.     On  Daniel  xii.  7,  he  says,  "  I  ever 
keep  it  before  me,  and  I  am  satisfied,  that  the  last  day  must 
be  before  the  door;  for  the  signs  predicted  by  Christ  and  the 
apostles  Peter  and  Paul  have  all  now  been  fulfilled,  the  trees 
put  forth,  the  Scriptures  are  green  and  blooming.     That  we 
cannot  know  the  day,  matters  not ;  some  one  else  may  point  it 
out ;  things  are  certainly  near  their  end."     Again,  "We  cer- 
tainly have  nothing  now  to  wait  for  but  the  end  of  all  things." 
Again,  "  Let  us  not  think  that  the  coming  of  Christ  is  far  off. 
Let  us  look  up  with  uplifted  heads,  and  with  a  longing  and 
cheerful  mind  expect  our  Redeemer's  coming.     Though  the 
signs  may  seem  uncertain,  yet  no  man  can  despise  them  with- 
out danger."     "  I  persuade  myself,  verily,  that  the  day  of 
judgment  will  not  be  absent  full  three  hundred  years  more. 
God  will  not,  cannot,  suffer  this  wicked  world  much  longer." 

Melancthon  taught  in  the  same  style.  He  insisted  that  the 
Mahometan  empire  and  the  papacy  shall  not  be  destroyed 
till  the  time  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead;  that  the  world 
would  endure  six  thousand  years  in  its  present  state,  and  then 
enter  upon  a  millennary  Sabbath  according  to  the  saying  of 
Elias;  and  that  "we  may  be  sure  that  this  aged  world  is  not 
far  from  its  end." 

Thus,  with  the  dawn  of  renewed  Christianity,  we  see  the 
glimmerings  again  of  the  ancient  faith  upon  this  subject. 


256  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

Gradually,  slowly,  and  against  various  hindrances,  it  once  more 
came  forth  to  the  view  of  mankind.  Many  of  the  English 
Reformers  were  decidedly  millenarian.  In  all  reformed  Chris- 
tendom mighty  men  of  God  (such  as  Comenius,  Jerieu,  Sera- 
rius,  Poiret,  Mede,  Burnet,  Peterson,  Spener,  Lange,  Bengel, 
Delitzsh,  Oetinger,  Stilling,  Lavater,  Sander  and  Hoffmann) 
rose  up  to  defend  and  proclaim  the  hopes  of  Justin,  Irenaeus 
and  Tertullian.  Just  as  men  studied  the  prophecies,  and  read 
them  as  God  caused  them  to  be  written,  the  advocates  of  the 
ancient  faith  increased,  until  now  we  can  number  some  of  the 
greatest,  wisest,  holiest  and  most  eloquent  men  upon  earth 
among  the  defenders  of  the  sublime  hopes  of  the  millenarian 
creed. 

Nor  is  our  doctrine  that  barren  and  useless  thing  which  its 
enemies  have  represented  it  to  be.  Its  influence,  wherever 
believed,  has  been  salutary  and  comforting.  Dodwell  testifies, 
"  It  was  one  principal  cause  of  the  fortitude  of  the  primitive 
Christians,  who  even  coveted  martyrdom  in  hopes  of  being 
partakers  of  the  privileges  and  glories  of  the  martyrs  in  the 
first  resurrection."  Bishop  Newton  endorses  this  statement 
as  "just."  Gibbon  says  that  as  long  as  this  error  (as  he  calls 
it)  was  permitted  to  subsist  in  the  church,  it  was  productive 
of  the  most  salutary  effects  on  the  faith  and  practice  of  Chris- 
tians, who  lived  in  the  awful  expectation  of  that  moment 
when  the  globe  itself,  and  all  the  various  race  of  mankind, 
should  tremble  at  the  appearance  of  their  divine  Judge." 
Bush,  though  an  enemy  to  this  doctrine,  says,  "  "We  have  no 
difficulty  in  supposing  the  belief  in  the  millenarian  error  was 
calculated  to  produce,  and  did  produce,  results  of  a  most 
auspicious  character,  which  a  different  construction  of  the 
sacred  oracles  would  have  failed  to  effect."  Such  testimony, 
from  such  sources,  is  sufficient.  Grapes  do  not  grow  upon 
thorns,  nor  figs  upon  thistles.  "A  corrupt  tree  cannot  bring 
forth  good  fruit." 


PRIMITIVE   AND   MODERN   FAITH.  257 

Everywhere  the  Scriptures  refer  us  to  Christ's  coming  and 
kingdom  as  the  great  motive  to  repentance,  holiness  and 
watchfulness.  The  Savior  commands  us  to  watch  and  pray, 
because  we  know  not  what  hour  the  Lord  cometh.  Our  mo- 
deration is  to  be  made  known  unto  all  men,  for  the  reason 
that  "the  Lord  is  at  hand."  Amid  all  the  calamities  and 
disturbances  that  howl  around  us,  we  are  to  lift  up  our  heads, 
and  stand  unmoved,  "  for  the  day  of  our  redemption  draweth 
nigh."  And  who  does  not  see  and  feel  that  if  we  did  really 
believe  the  solemn  truth  that  any  day  we  may  witness  Christ's 
final  appearing,  we  would  be  much  more  circumspect,  prayer- 
ful and  diligent  at  our  posts  ?  The  practical  effects  of  such  a 
faith  would  be  like  a  resurrection  to  our  dead  and  slumbering 
churches.  It  would  be  like  a  new  Pentecost  to  the  wilted 
hopes  of  our  degenerate  Christianity. 

Brethren,  there  is  one  thought  more  to  which  I  must  give 
utterance  in  this  connection.  It  relates  to  the  difference 
between  primitive  and  modern  faith  and  hope.  It  would  seem 
as  if  the  church  had  quite  drifted  away  from  her  ancient 
moorings.  The  early  Christians  dwelt  upon  no  subject  more 
than  that  of  the  coming  and  kingdom  of  the  Son  of  man. 
But  who  among  the  great  mass  of  living  professors  is  looking 
for  that  glorious  advent  which  is  to  consummate  all  the 
gracious  purposes  of  God?  Who  is  expecting  Christ?  Who 
believes  that  his  appearing  is  at  hand  ?  Who  acts  now  from 
the  great  idea  of  impending  judgment  ?  AVho  is  not  dream- 
ing of  a  millennium  first  ?  If  Christ  were  now  to  come,  how 
many  of  you  could  look  up  and  say,  "  This  is  my  Lord ;  I 
have  waited  for  him ;  blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  !"  Would  not  such  an  occurrence  rather  fill  you 
with  dismay,  and  make  you  cry  out  in  surprise  and  despair  ? 
Such  was  not  the  mental  condition  of  the  first  Christians,  who 
suffered,  looking  for  the  coming  of  the  Savior.  They  looked 
for  him  every  day;  most  of  you  are  not  looking  for  him  at  all, 
R  22* 


258  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

They  looked  for  him  with  desire  and  hope ;  most  of  you  never 
think  of  his  coming  but  with  fear  and  dread.  They  thirsted 
for  it,  and  longed  for  the  scenes  it  is  to  reveal ;  many  of  you 
rather  wish  that  Christ  might  never  come,  and  would  be  more 
comfortable  if  you  could  think  that  the  whole  thing  were  a 
fable.  They  watched  every  turn  in  human  affairs,  in  the  hope 
that  the  next  would  bring  their  Redeemer  from  the  heavens 
and  give  them  the  kingdom ;  but,  amid  the  most  wonderful 
commotions  in  society  that  man  ever  witnessed,  people  now 
stand  callous  and  unmoved,  as  if  they  had  nothing  to  hope  for 
and  no  interests  to  lose  !  Alas,  alas  !  it  would  seem  as  if  all 
the  hardness  and  unbelief  of  eighteen  centuries  were  accumu- 
lating upon  this  generation.  "Ask  thy  father,  and  he  will 
shew  thee ;  thy  elders,  and  they  will  tell  thee." 

There  is  but  one  way  of  safety  left.  We  must  take  the 
gospel — the  simple  gospel  as  Christ  has  given  it — and  make  it 
reality  in  our  experience  and  our  hopes,  or  we  must  take  death 
and  everlasting  despair.  The  decree  of  the  Eternal  has  gone 
forth,  and  we  must  be  hid  in  Christ  or  perish.  We  are 
hemmed  in  to  this,  and  there  is  no  escape.  All  other  depend- 
ence is  vain.  The  very  ground  beneath  our  feet  is  quaking 
and  gliding  away.  And,  unless  we  plant  ourselves  firmly  and 
at  once  upon  the  Rock  of  ages,  we  shall  soon  find  ourselves 
tossing  upon  the  boisterous  flood  of  a  starless  and  rayless 
eternity.  Behold  and  wonder ;  but  do  not  despise  and  perish. 
Rise ;  call  upon  God.  What  you  do,  do  quickly.  And  may 
Jehovah  be  our  portion,  and  helper,  and  everlasting  friend ! 
Amen. 


ELEVENTH  DISCOURSE. 

VTHEN  SHALL  CHRIST  COME  ? THE  TIME   NOT  WHOLLY  A   SECRET 

RELATION  OF  CHRIST'S  COMING,  IN  POINT  OF  TIME,  TO  OTHER 
THINGS  PREDICTED  IN  THE  SCRIPTURES — FIRST  METHOD  OF  COM- 
PUTING THE  TIME,  OR  MILLENNIAL  SEPTENARY SECOND  METHOD, 

OR  1260  YEARS'  DOMINANCE  OF  THE  PAPACY — THIRD  METHOD,  OR 
THE  VIALS  OF  WRATH. 


JAMES  v.  8:   StablisJi  your   hearts:  for  the  cominy  of  the  Lord 
draweth  nigh* 

IF,  then,  it  is  a  truth  that  Christ  the  Lord  shall  return 
again  to  this  world,  as  the  Scriptures  so  explicitly  affirm,  and 
as  is  acknowledged  in  all  the  creeds,  confessions  and  hymn- 
books  in  Christendom,  one  of  the  most  stirring  questions  con- 
cerning it  is,  WHEN  SHALL  HE  COME  ? 

This  question  was  again  and  again  asked  by  the  disciples 
while  he  was  yet  on  earth,  and  must  ever  possess  a  lively 
interest  to  every  thoroughly  Christian  heart.  But,  of  all 
questions  relating  to  our  faith  and  hope,  this  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  difficult  to  be  answered.  Nay,  so  far  as  respects  the 
precise  day  or  year,  it  cannot  be  answered  by  man  or  angel. 
"  The  times  and  seasons  the  Father  hath  put  in  his  own 
power." 

It  is  true,  however,  that  we  need  not  remain  in  such  total 
ignorance  on  the  subject  as  that  that  day  must  needs  come 
upon  us  unawares.  Daniel  was  indeed  directed  to  "shut, 
up  the  words  and  seal  the  book"  of  his  visions  concerning  it ; 
but  they  were  to  remain  "  closed  up  and  sealed  till  the  tima 

259 


260  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

of  the  end"  only;  and  he  assures  us  that  then  "the  wise 
shall  understand,"  though  "  the  wicked  shall  not  understand." 
Jesus  himself  has  described  the  signs  which  are  to  precede  it, 
hy  which  we  ruay  as  infallibly  judge  of  the  nearness  of  the 
end  as  we  judge  of  the  proximity  of  summer  by  the  budding 
of  the  trees.  Paul  says  expressly  that  "  the  children  of  light" 
"  are  not  in  darkness,  that  that  day  should  overtake  them  as 
a  thief."  And  in  the  Apocalypse,  which  is  specially  devoted 
to  the  portrayal  of  the  grand  scenes  of  Christ's  revelation 
and  the  events  which  are  to  precede  and  accompany  it,  the 
particular  promise  is  given,  "  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth  and 
they  that  hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy,  and  keep  those 
things  which  are  written  therein  ;"  which  certainly  implies 
the  possibility  of  being  able  to  understand  these  things  with 
some  good  degree  of  certainty  if  we  will  only  investigate  with 
proper  attention  and  prayerfulness.  Hence  Luther  expressed 
it  as  his  belief  that  God  would  yet  raise  up  some  one  who 
should  be  able  to  reckon  up  the  times,  and  with  certainty  hit 
upon  the  very  day.  I  hold,  therefore,  that,  instead  of  ren- 
dering ourselves  chargeable  with  irreverent  prying  into  the 
secrets  of  Deity  by  inquiring  when  Christ  shall  come,  it  is 
our  hopeful  duty  so  to  inquire ;  and  that,  if  any  man  lack 
wisdom  to  understand  what  the  Scriptures  have  said  upon 
this  point,  he  may  ask  God  and  expect  it  to  be  given  him  as 
liberally  as  upon  any  other  subject.  It  is  noted,  in  commenda- 
tion of  the  prophets,  that  they  "  searched  what  manner  of 
time  the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify;" 
and  why  should  not  similar  searching  be  commendable  in  us  ? 
When  the  disciples  asked  the  Lord,  "  Tell  us  when  shall  these 
things  be,  and  what  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy  coming  and  of 
the  end  of  the  age,"  he  kindly  entertained  their  request;  and 
now  that  we  are  bordering  so  near  upon  the  time,  will  he  be 
angry  with  us  for  pressing  the  same  inquiry?  And  when  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees  came  to  him  with  their  tempting 


WHEN    SHALL    CHRIST   COME.  261 

skepticism,  did  he  not  rebuke  them  as  hypocrites  who  could 
"  discern  the  face  of  the  sky,"  but  would  not  put  themselves 
to  the  pains  to  "discern  the  signs  of  the  times"?  Let  us 
beware,  then,  how  we  scout  this  question,  lest  we  "fall  through 
the  same  example  of  unbelief ;"  and  let  us  reverently  approach 
the  holy  oracles  to  learn  what  God  has  revealed  to  us,  to  ascer- 
tain our  position  in  the  calendar  of  prophecy  and  to  make  ready 
for  the  solemn  scenes  that  are  before  us.  May  the  Lord  aid 
us  in  our  inquiries  ! 

Our  question  is,  WHEN  SHALL  THE  SON  OP  MAN  COME  ? 
I  propose  to  consider  it,  first,  relatively,  by  showing  in  what 
connections  with  other  predicted  events  the  Scriptures  place 
the  coming  of  Christ ;  and  second,  absolutely,  by  showing  to 
what  period  things  are  pointing  as  the  time  of  the  Savior's 
coming. 

1.  The  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  a  period  of  abounding 
apostasy,  unbelief  and  wickedness.     Such  was  the  condition 
of  the  world  when  God  sent  the  flood;  and  Jesus  says,  "As 
the  days  of  Noah  were,  so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son 
of  man  be."     Peter  says,  "  There  shall  come  in  the  last  days 
scoffers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts,  and  saying,  Where  is 
the  promise  of  his  coming?"     Paul  says  of  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  "  That  day  shall  not  come,  except  there  come 
a  falling  away  first;"    and  that  "in  the  last  days  perilous 
times  shall  conie,  for  men  shall  be  lovers  of  their  own  selves, 
covetous,  boasters,  proud,  blasphemers,  disobedient  to  parents, 
unthankful,  unholy,  without  natural  affection,  truce-breakers, 
false  accusers,  incontinent,  fierce,  despisers  of  those  that  are 
good,  traitors,  heady,  high-minded,  lovers  of  pleasures  more 
than  lovers  of  God,  having  a  form  of  godliness,  but  denying 
the  power  thereof."      Such    statements  need   no  comment. 
Christ  will  come  in  a  period  of  abounding  guilt  and  faithless- 
ness. 

2.  He  shall  come  in  a  period  of  revolutionary  troubles, 


262  THE  LAST   TIMES. 

political  perplexities  and  great  national  agitations.  Jesus 
says,  "  There  shall  be  upon  the  earth  distress  of  nations,  with 
perplexity ;  the  sea  and  the  waves  thereof  roaring;  men's 
hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for  looking  after  those  things 
that  are  coming  on  the  earth  :  for  the  powers  of  heaven  shall 
be  shaken.  And  then  shall  they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming 
in  a  cloud,  with  power  and  great  glory."  According  to  the 
Revelation  of  John,  the  final  advent  is  to  be  immediately  pre- 
ceded by  the  outpouring  of  sundry  vials  of  wrath  in  quick 
succession,  each  one  filling  nations  with  trouble,  anguish  and 
desperation.  The  Psalmist  says  of  the  same  period  that  God 
shall  speak  to  the  kings  and  rulers  of  the  earth  in  his  wrath, 
"  and  vex  them  in  his  sore  displeasure."  This  point  is  also 
sufficiently  plain  and  well  settled. 

3.  The  Son  of  man  shall  come  while  the  ten  ultimate  divi- 
sions or  kingdoms  of  the  Roman  empire  are  still  standing. 
This  is  clearly  revealed  in  Daniel's  interpretations  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar's dream  of  "  the  great  image."  That  image  sym- 
bolized the  four  great  monarchies  that  were  to  exist  and  suc- 
ceed each  other  upon  earth.  The  first  was  the  Babylonian,  or 
golden  head  of  the  image,  the  lion  with  eagle's  wings.  The 
second,  or  silver  breast  and  arms,  was  the  Medo-Persian,  the 
great-toothed  devouring  bear.  The  third,  or  brazen  loins  and 
thighs,  was  the  Macedonian  or  Alexander's  kingdom,  the 
leopard  with  four  wings  and  four  heads.  And  the  fourth, 
or  iron  legs  and  feet,  was  the  Roman  empire,  the  dreadful, 
terrible  and  mighty  ten-horned  beast  which  devoured  and 
trampled  down  every  thing  before  it.  The  ten  toes,  or  ten 
horns,  are  the  ten  kingdoms  into  which  the  Roman  empire  was 
divided  by  the  barbarian  invasions,  and  which  now  stand  as 
the  representatives  of  the  old  Roman  empire.  And  Daniel 
tells  us  that  "  in  the  days  of  these  kings  (denoted  by  the  ten 
toes  and  horns)  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom." 
He  says  that  he  beheld  until  these  thrones  were  cast  down, 


HE  WILL   COME   BEFORE   THE  JEWS  ARE   RESTORED.     263 

and  the  time  that  the  beast  was  slain  was  the  time  when  the 
judgment  should  sit,  and  "one  like  the  Son  of  man  came 
with  the  clouds  of  heaven."  The  same  is  taught  in  the 
visions  of  John.  The  ten-horned  beast  of  the  thirteenth 
chapter  can  be  none  other  than  the  Roman  empire,  and  its 
ten  horns  its  ten  divisions.  And,  according  to  the  nineteenth 
chapter,  it  continues  in  existence,  persecuting  the  saints  and 
warring  against  the  Lamb,  until  destroyed  by  the  personal 
descent  of  him  whose  name  is  The  Word  of  God,  King  of 
kings,  and  Lord  of  lords.  This  point,  then,  is  also  suffi- 
ciently established. 

4.  The  Son  of  man  shall  come  before  the  Jews  as  an  entire 
people  shall  be  restored  to  Palestine.  There  will  be  a  portion 
of  Jacob  restored  before  the  Lord  comes,  but  not  the  entire 
race.  It  is  expressly  said  that  when  God  assembles  Jacob 
and  gathers  the  remnant  of  Israel,  "their  King  shall  pass 
before  them,  and  the  Lord  on  the  head  of  them:"  (Micah  ii. 
12,13.)  "The  Lord  will  go  before  them,  and  the  God  of 
Israel  will  be  their  rearward:"  (Isa.  lii.  12.)  He  must  there- 
fore be  on  earth  before  this  general  gathering  of  the  Jews 
takes  place.  It  is  further  evident  from  the  twelfth  of  Zecha- 
riah,  the  twenty-eighth  and  twenty-ninth  of  Ezekiel,  and  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  of  Revelation,  that  Christ  is  per- 
sonally present  when  the  terrible  destruction  occurs  to  the 
armies  that  invade  Palestine;  whilst  it  is  plain  from  the  sixty- 
sixth  of  Isaiah  that  it  is  only  after  that  terrific  overthrow  that 
the  great  and  triumphant  assembling  of  Israel  takes  place.  It 
is  those  who  escape  that  awful  destruction  that  are  to  go  to 
the  nations,  Tarshish,  Pul,  Lud,  Tubal,  Javan,  and  the  isles 
afar  off,  and  make  known  the  wonders  they  witnessed:  and 
only  then  shall  the  Gentiles  bring  all  the  children  of  Israel  out 
of  all  nations,  upon  horses,  and  in  chariots,  and  in  litters,  and 
upon  mules,  and  upon  swift  vehicles,  to  God's  holy  mountain 
Jerusalem,  for  an  offering  unto  the  Lord:  (Isa.  Ixvi.  19,  20.) 


204  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

It  is  also  explicitly  stated  that  the  time  of  Israel's  deliverance 
is  when  Christ  personally  comes;  not  before.  So  Paul  affirms 
in  Romans  xi.  26,  which  he  says  is  the  teaching  of  the  pro- 
phets. So  the  Psalmist  says : — "  When  the  Lord  shall  build  up 
Zion,  he  shall  appear  in  his  glory."  And  so  Zechariah  de- 
clares, wh«n  God  shall  "pour  upon  the  house  of  David,  and 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  the  spirit  of  grace  and 
supplication,  they  shall  look  upon  him  whom  they  have 
pierced."  Christ  will  therefore  come  before  the  general 
restoration  of  Israel. 

5.  He  will  come  while  the  papacy  and  the  Man  of  sin  still 
live  and  continue  in  power.     It  is  now  established,  as  well  as 
any  interpretation  of  prophecy  can  be,  that  the  "little  horn" 
in  Daniel's  vision  (Dan.  vii.  8—24)  denotes  the  papal  power. 
And  he  says,  "  I  beheld,  and  the  same  horn  made  war  with 
the  saints,  and  prevailed  against  them,  until  the  Ancient  of 
days  came."    It  must  live  on,  then,  until  Christ  comes — until 
"the  judgment  shall  sit."     That  the  "Man  of  sin,  the  son  of 
perdition,"  in  2d  Thessalouians,  is  the  pope  and  his  apostasy, 
is  also  clearly  ascertained,  and  universally  agreed  by  Protest- 
ants.    But  Paul  describes  him  as  pressing  his  work  of  deceit 
and  blasphemy  until  "  destroyed  by  the  appearing  of  Christ's 
own  presence."    And  in  John's  account  of  the  doings  of  Jesus 
in  the  great  day  when  he  shall  come  forth  in  his  wrath,  we 
find  this  self-same  monster  still  existing,  still  arrayed  against 
God,  and  only  taken  and  destroyed  by  the  administrations  of 
the  great  day  of  God  Almighty.     The  Son  of  man  shall  there- 
fore certainly  come  whilst  the  papacy  still  lives. 

6.  He  shall  come  in  a  period  when  a  far-sounding  cry  shall 
be  raised  in  slumbering  Christendom  that  his  advent  is  at 
hand.     The  Savior  tells  us  that  in  that  period  "the  kingdom, 
of  heaven  shall  be  likened  unto  ten  virgins  who  went  forth  to 
meet  the  bridegroom;  but  while  the  bridegroom  tarried  they 
all  slumbered  and  slept.     And  at  midnight  there  was  a  cry 


HE   WILL   COME    UNEXPECTED   BY   THE   WORLD.  205 

made,  Behold,  the  bridegroom  cometh;  go  ye  out  to  meet  him." 
That  this  parable  portrays  the  condition  of  the  church  in  the 
period  of  the  advent,  there  can  be  no  room  for  doubt.  Christ, 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  was  engaged  in  a  description  of  his 
coming  and  the  end  of  the  age.  And  this  is  but  a  continuation 
of  that  discourse.  "  THEN/'  says  he, — that  is,  in  the  time  when 
what  I  have  said  shall  be  fulfilled, — then  shall  the  kingdom  of 
heaven — the  community  of  professing  Christians — be  like  the 
ten  virgins.  They  shall  sleep  with  regard  to  this  great  sub- 
ject. And  while  they  sleep  the  announcement  shall  go  forth 
that  the  bridegroom  is  coming.  The  same  thing  is  set  forth 
in  the  Apocalypse,  where,  in  connection  with  the  scenes  of 
the  last  days,  the  announcement  of  the  blessed  Savior  is, 
''Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief;  blessed  is  he  that  watcheth!" 
All  this  shows  that  in  the  period  of  the  advent,  a  cry  declar- 
ing his  coming  shall  be  poured  upon  the  dull  ear  of  Chris- 
tendom. 

7.  But,  notwithstanding  the  cry,  Christ  shall  come  when 
but  few  will  at  all  believe  that  his  advent  is  near.  He  says 
himself,  "When  the  Son  of  man  cometh,  shall  he  find  faith 
on  the  earth?"  "In  such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not,  the  Son 
of  man  cometh."  "Evil  servants  shall  say  in  their  hearts, 
My  Lord  delayeth  his  coming."  Some  will  scoff  and  say, 
"Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming?"  People  will  be  say- 
ing "Peace  and  safety,"  when  sudden  destruction  shall  come 
upon  them.  "  As  in  the  days  that  were  before  the  flood,  they 
were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage," — 
self-contentedly  pursuing  the  vanities  and  pleasures  of  earth, 
— "and  knew  not  until  the  flood  came  and  took  them  all  away: 
so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  be." 

From  these  plain  statements  of  the  word  of  God,  two  things 
may  be  remarked.  The  first  is,  that  there  certainly  is  to  be 
no  thousand  years  of  universal  righteousness  and  peace  pre- 
vious to  Christ's  coming.  The  second  is,  that  we  need  fix 

23 


26(5  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

upon  no  other  times  for  Christ's  coming  than  the  times  in 
•which  we  live. 

I  proceed,  then,  to  the  second  branch  of  the  subject,  in 
which  I  proposed  to  bring  forward  what  light  can  be  obtained 
for  a  somewhat  more  direct  and  categorical  answer  to  the 
question,  When  shall  Christ  come?  Nor  is  there  as  much 
barrenness  upon  this  line  of  inquiry  as  may  be  supposed. 
There  are  sundry  distinct  and  independent  processes  by  which 
information  may  be  gathered.  And  if  we  should  find  upon 
examination  that  these  several  processes  harmonize  in  their 
results,  we  may  take  them  as  mutually  corroborative,  the  one 
as  sustaining  the  truthfulness  of  the  other,  whilst  the  com- 
bined testimony  of  all,  if  found  to  agree,  must  create  a  very 
strong  probability  in  favor  of  the  period  to  which  they 
point. 

The  first  method  of  computing  the  time  I  will  introduce  by 
a  quotation  from  Johnston,  a  distinguished  writer  on  the  pro- 
phecies. "  Through  the  whole  Scripture,  both  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments/'  says  he,  "there  is  a  striking  typical  repre- 
sentation of  some  great  and  important  Sabbath,  as  a  great 
septenary  that  has  not  yet  taken  place,  and  which  evidently 
appears  to  be  the  millenarian  septenary,  as  the  great  Sabbath 
of  the  whole  earth.  God  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and  hal- 
lowed it.  In  the  Decalogue  this  peculiar  distinguishment  of 
the  seventh  day,  or  weekly  sabbath,  was  most  solemnly  renewed. 
Every  seventh  year  was  appointed  a  sabbatical  year.  And  the 
commencement  of  the  year  of  jubilee,  which  was  every  fiftieth 
year,  was  to  be  fixed  by  the  running  of  a  septenary  of  sabbati- 
cal years.  '  Thou  shalt  number  seven  sabbaths  of  years  unto 
thee,  seven  years,  and  the  space  of  the  seven  sabbaths  of 
years  shall  be  unto  thee  forty  and  nine  years.'  The  numbei 
seven,  because  used  in  Scripture  to  complete  all  the  sacred 
divisions  of  time,  was  regarded  by  the  Jews  as  the  symbol  of 
perfection,  and  is  used  in  this  sense  in  Scripture.  The  ques- 


THE    SEVENTH    MILLENNIUM.  2G7 

tion  then  arises,  Is  it  to  be  supposed  that  all  these  events, 
which  are  interwoven  with  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  which  was 
itself  symbolical  or  typical,  and  which  are  introduced  into  the 
New  Testament,  and  abound  so  much  in  the  book  of  Revela- 
tion, have  no  antetype  to  correspond  to  them? — no  great  sab- 
batical septenary  to  which  they  all  point  and  in  which  they 
all  shall  be  accomplished  ?  Is  it  not  highly  probable  that  they 
are  all  typical  of  the  seventh  millenary  of  the  earth,  which  is 
the  great  Sabbath?"  To  this  I  may  answer  that  it  is  not 
only  probable,  but  the  nest  thing  to  absolute  certainty. 

When  we  go  back  into  antiquity,  whether  Jewish,  heathen 
or  Christian,  we  find  a  general  and  deeply-seated  belief  that 
the  world  shall  endure  six  thousand  years  in  its  secular  and 
toiling  state,  answering  to  the  six  days  of  the  creation;  and 
that  then  will  follow  a  thousand  years  of  holy  rest,  peace  and 
joy, — the  millennial  Sabbath,  or  golden  period  of  the  world. 
Bishop  Russell,  of  Scotland,  says,  "It  is  found  in  the  most 
ancient  of  those  commentaries  of  the  Old  Testament  which  we 
owe  to  the  learning  of  the  Rabbinical  school;"  and  that  "there 
is  no  room  for  doubt  that  the  notion  preceded  by  several  cen- 
turies the  introduction  of  the  Christian  faith."  It  is  given  as 
a  tradition  of  the  house  of  Elias,  and  thought  by  many  to  date 
back  to  the  great  prophet  Elijah.  Professor  Bush,  in  his  book 
against  the  millennium,  speaks  of  this  tradition,  and  says,  "It 
is  but  fair  to  admit,  that,  as  there  is  nothing  in  the  Scriptures 
which  directly  contradicts  it,  it  may  be  well  founded."  Ac- 
cording to  Plutarch,  the  Chaldeans  had  a  similar  belief. 
Zoroaster  also  taught  it.  Daubuz  says  that  the  Tuscans  held 
it,  and  that  it  is  retained  among  the  Persians  to  this  day.  The 
Magi  entertained  it.  We  saw  in  a  previous  discourse  that  it 
was  held  and  inculcated,  as  a  branch  of  Christian  truth,  by 
Barnabas,  Justin  Martyr,  Papias,  Irenaeus,  Tertullian,  Cyprian, 
and  all  orthodox  Christians  for  the  first  centuries  of  the  Chris- 
tian era.  Luther  entertained  it.  Melancthon  wrote  it  on  the 


268  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

fly-leaf  of  the  Bible,  as  a  matter  not  to  be  disputed.  Thousands 
of  divines  since  his  time  have  received  it  as  part  of  their 
faith.  And  when  we  come  to  place  together  certain  state- 
ments of  the  Scriptures,  there  seems  to  me  to  be  a  weight  of 
testimony  in  its  favor  fully  warranting  us  in  setting  it  down  as 
sacred  truth.  Look  at  these  sentences : — 

"  In  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth." 
"On  the  seventh  day  he  rested  and  was  refreshed." 
"One  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years." 
"THERE  REMAINETH  THEREFORE  A  REST — ffaftjlarifftios,  a 

KEEPING    OF    SABBATH — TO   THE   PEOPLE   OF   GOD." 

I  have  shown  that  Christ  will  come  before  the  millennium, 
not  after  it.  The  millennium  is  the  seventh  thousand  years, 
or  great  Sabbath,  of  the  world.  Now  then,  if  we  can  ascer- 
tain in  what  period  of  the  world's  age  we  live,  we  may  form 
some  idea  of  the  time  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  come.  To 

g 

ascertain  this  with  certain  accuracy  is  impossible;  but  we  may 
approximate  the  truth  with  some  degree  of  reliability. 

The  commonly-received  chronology,  which  makes  the  world 
four  thousand  and  three  years  old  when  Christ  was  born,  is 
that  of  Archbishop  Usher,  who  wrote  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago.  According  to  his  computation,  the  world 
would  yet  have  to  continue  one  hundred  and  forty-one  years 
before  reaching  the  commencement  of  the  seventh  thousand. 
Dr.  Jarvis,  whose  examinations  are  more  recent,  makes  the 
•world  four  thousand  and  nineteen  years  old  when  Christ  was 
born;  which  would  leave  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  to 
intervene  before  the  millennium.  There  is  however  a  ques- 
tion among  chronologists,  as  to  the  length  of  time  that  elapsed 
during  the  reign  of  the  Judges  after  the  entrance  into  Canaan. 
According  to  1  Kings  vi.  1,  the  age  of  the  world  at  Christ's  birth 
was  one  hundred  years  less  than  it  is  made  by  taking  the  reigu 
of  the  Judges  according  to  Paul's  reckoning  in  Acts  xiii.  19, 20. 
That  Paul's  account  is  to  be  taken  in  preference  to  the  other 


OPINIONS  -OF    CnRONOLOGISTS.  269 

lias  been  very  satisfactorily  shown  by  Clinton,  and  is  now  very 
generally  conceded  by  chronologists.  With  this  correction, 
then,  on  the  basis  of  Usher  and  Jarvis,  there  would  yet  remain 
twenty-five  or  thirty  years  to  the  completion  of  the  six  thou- 
sand from  Adam.  And  this  brings  the  matter  near  to  what 
other  learned  investigators  have  made  it.  Sylvester  Bliss, 
author  of  a  valuable  "Analysis  of  Sacred  Chronology,"  com- 
putes the  age  of  the  world  at  Christ's  birth  at  four  thousand  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years;  which  leaves  twenty-four  to  com- 
plete the  six  thousand.  The  Rev.  R.  C.  Shinieall,  in  his  '-Age 
of  the  World,"  reckons  ttcelce  years  from  the  present  (1856)  as 
completing  the  siz  thousand.  The  Rev.  C.  Bowen,  whose  esti- 
mates and  tables  were  adopted  by  Dr.  Elliott  and  affixed  to  his 
exposition  of  the  Apocalypse,  computes  the  age  of  the  world  at 
the  Savior's  birth  at  four  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
cight  years;  leaving  ten  //ears  to  the  beginning  of  the  millennial 
Sabbath.  And  Fynes  Clinton,  according  to  Bickersteth,  "one 
of  the  ablest  chronologers  of  the  present  times,"  whom  Bowen 
mainly  follows,  and  whose  researches  are  deemed  very  valu- 
able, computes  the  world's  age  at  four  thousand  one  hundred 
and  thirty-eight  years  when  Christ  was  born;  lea  ring  but  six 
years  until  the  serenth  thousand  shaU  b'jin. 

If,  then,  we  be  allowed  to  correct  Usher  and  Jan-is  by  more 
recent  investigations,  we  have  the  concurrent  testimony  of 
these  half-dozen  learned  and  received  chronol-jgists,  that  the.  six 
thousand  y ars  from  Adam  shall  be  fulfilled  icithin  the  pre- 
sent century, — IN  LESS  THAN  FIFTY  YEARS  !  And  if  Christ  is 
to  come  at  the  beginning  of  the  millennium,  or  seventh  thou- 
sand years,  you  may  see  how  near  we  are  approaching  to  that 
august  event. 

Let  us  pass  now  to  another  method  of  computation  on  this 
subject,  and  see  whither  that  will  condiu  t  us. 

The  "  little  horn"  described  in  the  seventh  of  Daniel,  the 
prophet  declares,  "  made  war  with  the  saints,  and  prevailed 

23» 


270  THE   LAST    TIMES. 

against  them,  until  the  Ancient  of  days  came,  and  judgment 
•was  given  to  the  saints ;"  that  is,  until  the  coming  of  Christ. 
He  also  tells  us  the  duration  of  the  period  in  which  the  saints 
are  thus  to  be  afflicted.  "  They  shall  be  given  into  his  hand 
until  a  time  and  times,  and  the  dividing  of  time,"  or  three 
years  and  a  half.  These  are  of  course  prophetic  or  symboli- 
cal years,  in  which  each  day  stands  for  a  year ;  as  in  Numb, 
xiv.  13 ;  Ez.  iv.  4-6 ;  Rev.  ii.  10 ;  Dan.  ix.  24 ;  where  this 
matter  is  sufficiently  explained,  a  day  standing  for  a  year.  So 
Melancthou  and  the  Magdeburg  centuriators  understood  them. 
Professor  Stuart  says,  "  The  great  mass  of  interpreters  in  tho 
English  and  American  world  have,  for  many  years,  been  wont 
to  understand  the  days  designated  in  Daniel  and  the  Apoca- 
lypse as  the  representatives  or  symbols  of  years.  I  have  found 
it  difficult  to  trace  the  origin  of  this  general,  I  might  say, 
almost  UNIVERSAL  custom."  Professor  Bush  says,  "  In  taking 
a  day  as  the  prophetical  time  for  a  year,  I  believe  you  are 
sustained  by  the  soundest  exegesis,  as  well  as  fortified  by  the 
high  names  of  Mede,  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Faber,  Scott,  Bishop 
Newton,  Keith,  and  a  host  of  others If  the  old  year- 
day  is  wrong,  not  only  has  the  whole  Christian  world  been 
led  astray  for  ages  by  a  mere  ignis-fatuus  of  false  hermeneu- 
tics,  but  the  church  is  at  once  cut  loose  from  every  chronolo- 
gical mooring,  and  set  adrift  on  the  open  sea,  without  the 
vestige  of  a  beacon,  lighthouse,  or  star  by  which  to  determine 
her  bearings  or  distances  from  the  desired  millennial  haven 
to  which  she  had  hoped  she  was  tending." 

Three  years  and  a  half,  as  men  anciently  reckoned,  contain 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days.  Twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
years,  then,  is  the  length  of  the  period  from  the  giving  of  the 
saints  into  the  hand  of  the  little  horn  to  the  judgment  and 
coming  of  the  Ancient  of  days.  Hence,  if  we  can  ascertain 
when  the  saints  were  given  into  the  hand  of  the  little  horn, 
we  may  judge  of  the  time  when  Christ  is  likely  to  come. 


1260    YEARS    OF   THE    LITTLE    IIORX.  271 

I  have  said  that  this  little  horn  denotes  the  papacy.  Every 
unbiassed  investigator  must  come  to  this  conclusion. 

The  terrible  beast  on  which  it  grew  certainly  represents  the 
Roman  empire ;  and  the  papacy  arose  upon  the  Roman  empire. 

It  grew  up  among  ten  other  horns  of  this  beast,  which  are 
ten  kings  or  kingdoms ;  the  papacy  sprung  into  being  from 
among  the  ten  separate  but  closely-related  powers  into  which 
the  old  Roman  empire  was  divided  by  the  barbarian  invasions. 

Before  this  little  horn,  three  of  the  other  horns  were 
plucked  up ;  the  papacy  possessed  itself  of  the  Gothic  king- 
dom of  Odoacer,  which  fell  in  493,  the  Ostrogothic  kingdom 
of  Theodoric,  which  fell  in  554,  and  the  Lombardic  kingdom 
of  Alboin,  which  fell  in  774;  and  thus,  as  proclaimed  in  the 
bull  against  Queen  Elizabeth,  he  subdued  three  kingdoms. 

This  little  horn  was  "diverse  from  the  first,"  or  other  ten; 
the  papacy  is  an  ecclesiastico-political  establishment,  altogether 
different  in  its  elements  from  the  other  kingdoms  in  which  it 
sprung  up. 

"In  this  (little)  horn  were  eyes,  like  the  eyes  of  a  man." 
The  papacy  claims  to  be  a  universal  overseer,  and  is  full  of 
cunning,  subtlety  and  far-sighted  plans. 

It  had  also  "a  mouth  speaking  great  things" — "great 
words  against  the  Most  High,"  and  "  his  look  was  more  stout 
than  his  fellows."  The  papacy  has  ever  been  characterized 
by  its  pompous,  arrogant,  sacrilegious  and  blasphemous  as- 
sumptions. There  never  has  been  a  king  or  potentate  on 
earth  who  has  ventured  upon  such  pretensions  as  the  pope  of 
Rome. 

The  little  horn  "  thought  to  change  times  and  laws." 
Since  the  times  of  Julius  Caesar,  none  but  the  papacy  has  ever 
arrogated  the  right  to  regulate  the  calendar,  or  to  dictate  and 
annul  the  legislation  of  the  world. 

This  little  horn  prevailed  against  the  saints,  and  wearied 
them  out,  and  had  them  in  his  hand.  The  papacy  is  the 


272  THE    LAST    TIMES. 

power  from  which  the  humble  confessors  of  Jesus  have  suf- 
fered more  than  from  Nero  and  Caligula. 

In  every  particular  the  prophetic  description  fits  the  papacy, 
and  fits  nothing  else. 

The  giving  of  the  saints  into  the  hands  of  the  papacy  was 
the  investiture  of  the  popes  with  universal  jurisdiction,  over- 
sight and  dominion  over  the  church.  Clothing  them  with 
such  power  was  most  literally  and  effectually  giving  the  saints 
into  their  hand.  Let  us  inquire,  then,  when  this  occurred. 

History  presents  two  dates,  at  which  different  interpreters 
have  thought  they  could  trace  the  act  which  gave  the  saints 
into  the  hands  of  the  papacy.  The  one  is  the  year  533  or 
534,  when  the  Emperor  Justinian  gave  the  pope  precedence 
of  all  his  episcopal  brethren;  the  other  is  the  year  606, 
when  the  Emperor  Phocas  declared  the  pope  head  of  all  tho 
churches,  and  sole  universal  bishop.  Newton  has  mentioned 
other  dates,  such  as  the  years  727,  when  the  pope  and  the 
Romans  finally  broke  their  connection  with  the  Eastern  em- 
peror; 755,  when  the  pope  obtained  the  exarchate  of  Ra- 
venna; 774,  when  he  acquired  the  kingdom  of  Lornbardy; 
and  787,  when  the  worship  of  images  was  first  established, 
and  the  pope's  supremacy  endorsed  by  the  second  Council  of 
Nice.  But  neither  of  these  dates  mentioned  by  Newton  an- 
swers to  the  case  before  us ;  and  Newton  himself  does  not 
venture  to  say  upon  which  of  them  we  are  to  rely.  And  the 
earlier  date  which  goes  back  to  the  time  of  Justinian  seems 
equally  inadequate  to  answer  to  that  for  which  we  are  inquir- 
ing. The  truth  is,  that  the  papal  power  was  not  the  product 
of  a  single  day  or  year.  It  grew.  But  the  great  and  effective 
act  which  made  the  pope  lord  of  Christendom,  and  thus 
gave  the  saints  into  his  hand,  was  the  decree  of  Phocas  in 
A.D.  606.  It  is  to  this  date  that  the  great  mass  of  the  most 
accredited  interpreters  refer  us  in  connection  with  this  subject. 

Taking  this  as  the  date,  then,  when  the  papacy  obtained  ita 


SUNDRY   AUTHORITIES.  273 

power,  and  adding  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years,  the  given 
period  of  its  dominancy,  we  arc  carried  dowu  to  the  year  1866 
or  1867  as  the  time  when  Christ  shall  come  and  the  judgment 
sit, — the  exact  date  which  Bowen  and  others  have  hit  upon 
by  an  entirely  different  process. 

The  authorities  sustaining  this  computation  are  very  nu- 
merous, and  include  some  of  the  weightiest  of  names.  I  will 
refer  to  a  few. 

Baronius,  in  his  ecclesiastical  annals,  and  other  Romish 
historians,  have  referred  to  the  decree  of  Phocas  in  606,  as 
the  first  effective  official  acknowledgment  of  the  pope's  supre- 
macy. Mosheim  says,  "  The  most  learned  writers,  and  those 
who  are  most  remarkable  for  their  knowledge  of  antiquity,  are 
generally  agreed  that  Boniface  III.  engaged  Phocas,  that 
abominable  tyrant,  to  take  from  the  bishop  of  Constantinople 
the  title  of  oecumenical  or  universal  Lisltop,  and  to  confer  it 
upon  the  Roman  pontiff;  and  thus  wit*  t/f  papal  supremacy 
jit'st  introduced." 

Luther  alludes  to  the  year  606  as  a  notable  commencing 
papal  epoch.  Osiander,  one  of  his  first  disciples,  has  done 
the  same.  Flacius,  also  a  pupil  of  Luther  and  Melancthon, 
represented  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days  as  having  com- 
menced in  606,  and  by  consequence  as  running  out  in  1866. 

Robert  Fleming,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  in 
his  little  book  on  the  Rise  and  Fall  of  Papacy,  said,  '-We 
may  justly  reckon  that  the  papal  head  took  its  rise  from  that 
remarkable  year,  606,  when  Phocas  did  in  a  manner  devolve 
the  government  of  the  West  upon  him,  l>y  giving  him  the  tide 
of  universal  LisJiop.  From  which  period,  if  we  date  the  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  years,  they  lead  us  down  (as  I  said  already) 
to  the  year  1866." 

David  Simpson,  a  divine  of  the  last  century,  says,  "  Some 
begin  to  reckon  (the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years)  from 
the  year  606,  when  the  proud  prelate  of  Rome  was  declared 
S 


274  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

universal  bishop.  If  this  be  right,  (and  he  seems  to  bo 
strongly  of  that  opinion,)  then  the  Pope  of  Rome  will  be  com- 
pletely destroyed  about  the  year  1866,"  and  Christ  of  course 
come ;  for  the  papacy  is  to  stand  till  Christ  comes. 

Scott,  the  commentator,  says,  "  The  beginning  of  the  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  years  must  be  placed  subsequent  to  the 
four  first  trumpets,  on  the  subversion  of  the  Western  empire 
in  566.  This  made  way  for  the  pope.  He  became  universal 
bishop  in  A.D.  606." 

The  learned  George  Stanley  Faber,  who  examined  very 
deeply  into  these  subjects,  says,  "The  year  which  I  have  fixed 
upon  for  the  date  of  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years,  is 
the  year  606, — a  year  marked  by  so  singular  a  combination  of 
circumstances,  that  I  know  not  how  any  other  can  with  equal 
propriety  be  selected.  If,  then,  I  be  right  in  my  opinion,  we 
are  now  removed  but  little  more  than  sixty  years  from  the 
commencement  of  the  end  of  the  vintage  of  God's  wrath." 
This  was  written  in  1805,  and  fixes  1866  as  the  time  when 
things  shall  come  to  the  scenes  of  their  consummation. 

But  I  have  not  the  time  to  multiply  quotations.  Chytroeus, 
Pareus,  Whiston,  Cogswell,  Bryant,  Elliott,  Gumming,  Junkin, 
Berg,  and  many  more,  have  taken  the  same  dates.  This 
method  of  computing  the  time  of  the  end  is,  therefore,  not  a 
mere  conceit,  but  a  thing  commanding  the  belief  of  some  of 
our  ablest  interpreters,  and  claiming  our  particular  attention. 
I  will  only  add  the  testimony  of  Luther,  who,  not  long  before 
his  death,  said,  "  I  persuade  myself  verily  that  the  day  of 
judgment  will  not  remain  absent  full  three  hundred  years 
more;"  according  to  which  we  are  now  living  in  the  very 
period  of  the  judgment.  I  would  not  be  understood  as  hold- 
ing or  teaching  that  Christ  will  certainly  come  in  ten  years 
from  the  present  time.  I  do  not  feel  authorized  to  fix  upon 
any  one  specific  date  for  that  great  event.  But  here  we  have 
two  distinct  and  independent  processes,  sustained  by  the  best 


THE   SEVEN   VIALS.  275 

authorities  on  the  subject,  and  both  of  which  concur  in  the 
representation  that  the  day  of  Christ's  coming  is  near  at  hand, 
and  lies  within  the  limits  of  this  present  century.  Well  may 
we  then  take  up  the  language  of  the  text  and  say,  "  TIIE 

COMING   OP   THE   LORD   DRAWETH    NIGH  !" 

But  there  is  still  another  method  by  which  light  may  be 
thrown  upon  this  mysterious  subject. 

In  the  sixteenth  chapter  of  Revelation  we  read  of  seven 
angels  having  seven  vials  of  the  wrath  of  God,  which  they 
pour  out  in  quick  succession  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth.  These  vials  are  called  "  seven  plagues,"  and  evidently 
relate  to  "  the  last  times."  It  is  under  the  pouring  out  of 
the  sixth  vial  that  the  coming  of  Christ  is  announced.  And 
if  we  can  identify  the  fulfillment  of  these  plagues,  and  ascer- 
tain under  which  of  them  we  are  now  living,  we  may  form 
some  idea  of  our  probable  nearness  to  the  time  of  the  Savior's 
coming.  Let  us  then  enter  upon  this  inquiry. 

"  And  the  first  (angel)  went  and  poured  out  his  vial  upon 
the  earth ;  and  there  fell  a  noisome  and  grievous  sore  upon 
the  men  which  had  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  upon  them 
which  worshipped  his  image." 

This,  and  what  follows  in  the  vision,  is  of  course  symbolic, 
and  is  to  be  interpreted  by  the  laws  which  apply  to  symbolic 
lano-uao-e.  "  The  land  or  earth,  when  distinguished  from  the 

o         C  /  «_» 

sea,  rivers,  fountains  and  heaven,  denotes  the  population  of 
an  empire  under  a  settled  government.  The  ulcer  denotes  an 
analogous  disease  of  the  mind,  a  restlessness  and  rancor  of 
passion  exasperated  by  agitating  and  noxious  principles  and 
opinions,  that  fill  it  with  a  sense  of  obstruction,  degradation 
and  misery,  resembling  the  torture  of  an  ulcerated  body." 
Accordingly,  the  best  interpreters  apply  this  vial  to  the  first 
or  incipient  stages  of  the  French  Revolution.  As  Lord 
remarks,  "No  symbol  can  be  conceived  more  suited  to  repre- 
sent the  restlessness  under  injury,  the  ardor  of  resentment, 


276  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

hate  and  revenge,  the  noxiousness  and  contagion  of  false 
principles  and  opinions,  that  marked  the  commencement  of 
the  political  disquiets  and  agitations  of  the  European  states 
toward  the  close  of  the  last  century.  .  .  .  France  received  its 
first  and  largest  tempest.  But  the  angel,  scattering  a  shower 
on  Belgium,  Holland  and  the  Valley  of  the  Rhine,  crossed 
the  Alps,  steeping  heights  and  recesses  in  the  bitter  flood, 
drenched  the  vales  and  plains  of  Italy,  swept  around  over  the 
German  empire  and  the  British  isles,  and  finally  dashed  the 
vengeful  dregs  on  the  peninsula  of  Portugal  and  Spain  and 
the  distant  southern  shores  of  this  continent." 

"And  the  second  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  sea,  and  it 
became  as  the  blood  of  a  dead  man;  and  every  living  thing 
died  in  the  sea." 

"  This  denotes  the  second  great  act  in  the  tragedy  of  the 
French  Revolution,  in  which  the  people  slaughtered  one  an- 
other in  feuds,  insurrections  and  civil  wars,  and  extermi- 
nated with  the  dagger,  the  bayonet  and  the  guillotine,  all  the 
influential  ranks, — king,  queen,  nobles,  prelates,  civil  magis- 
trates, priests,' military  commanders,  soldiers,  persons  of  illus- 
trious descent,  of  distinguished  reputation,  of  talents,  of  wealth, 
and  demagogues,  political  chiefs,  who  rose  to  conspicuity  and 
influence  by  their  acts  as  revolutionists."  Every  living  soul 
in  any  way  distinguished  died  in  the  sea  of  deadly  blood  !  So 
Lord,  Faber  and  Cunninghame  understand  this  vial. 

"And  the  third  angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  rivers 
and  fountains  of  waters ;  and  they  became  blood." 

"  This  symbol  denotes  the  vast  bloodshed  in  other  Apoca- 
lyptical kingdoms  in  the  insurrections  and  wars  which  sprung 
out  of  the  French  Revolution.  It  commenced  in  Austria  in 
1792,  and  soon  extended  to  Holland,  Sardinia,  Russia,  Italy, 
Spain,  England,  Prussia,  Switzerland,  Denmark  and  Portugal, 
and  continued  with  little  intermission  for  more  than  twenty 
years,  in  which  the  blood  of  millions  of  the  French  was 


FOURTH    AND    FIFTH    VIALS.  277 

poured  out  on  the  soil  of  other  kingdoms,  millions  of  other 
nations  in  resisting  their  aggressions,  and  vast  multitudes  of 
both  sexes  put  to  death  in  the  violence  of  revolution,  the 
siege  and  sack  of  cities  and  the  repression  of  insurrections." 
Lord,  Faber,  Cunninghame,  Keith  and  Elliott. 

"And  the  fourth  angel  poured  out  his  vial  on  the  sun; 
and  power  was  given  unto  him  to  scorch  men  with  fire.  And 
men  were  scorched  with  great  heat,  and  blasphemed  the  name 
of  God,  which  hath  power  over  these  plagues,  and  they  re- 
pented not  to  give  him  glory." 

The  sun,  in  the  language  of.  symbols,  denotes  the  civil 
power,  or  those  who  exercise  government  in  a  kingdom  or 
state.  This  plague  is  accordingly  interpreted  of  those  oppres- 
sions and  spoliations  which  resulted  from  previous  wars  and 
troubles,  and  with  which  the  revolutionary  rulers  of  France 
and  contemporary  authorities  of  other  countries  scorched  and 
devoured  their  subjects.  Alison  says  that  a  war  of  plunder, 
confiscation  and  slaughter  was  waged  against  the  rich  from 
mere  envy  and  avarice,  and  thousands  of  families  were  re- 
duced from  affluence  to  beggary.  Time  would  fail  for  an 
enumeration  of  the  di.stres.ses  inflicted  by  the  mad  worship- 
pel's  of  reason  and  liberty,  and  even  by  Napoleon  himself. 
History  hardly  contains  a  parallel  to  those  times  of  wo.  And 
yet  the  people  repented  not  of  their  sins. — Lord,  Faber,  Cun- 
ninghame, Keith,  and  others. 

''And  the  fifth  angel  poured  out  his  vial  <m  ///<•  ,^at  «f  tlic 
IKI ^f ;  und  /i in  l-iiK/doin  tens  full  of  darkness  ;  and  they 
gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain,  and  blasphemed  the  God  of 
heaven,  because  of  their  pains  and  sores,  and  repented  not 
of  their  deeds." 

This  plague  is  so  much  like  the  first  that  it  can  only  be 
applied  to  similar  revolutionary  scenes,  in  which  thrones  are 
made  to  totter,  their  power  obscured  and  kingdoms  thrown  into 
confusion  and  distress.  The  mention  of  the  sores  and  pains 

24 


278  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

of  the  first  vial  shows  that  these  plagues  overlap  and  ruii 
through  each  other,  and  that  they  have  respect,  at  least  for 
the  most  part,  to  the  same  people.  The  wild  beast  is  the  civil 
power  of  the  ten  kingdoms  occupying  the  place  of  the  old 
lloman  empire.  The  pouring  of  the  vial  on  the  seat  of  the 
beast  shows  the  troubles  with  which  their  authority  should  be 
assailed,  and  the  extreme  peril  to  which  their  power  should  be 
subjected.  And  to  what  could  all  this  more  forcibly  apply 
than  to  those  scenes  of  revolution  which,  in  1848,  jostled 
every  throne  and  threatened  the  utter  destruction  of  every 
government  in  Europe  ?  Look  back  and  think  over  that 
year  of  wonders.  Consider  how  the  spirit  of  liberty,  poisoned 
and  fouled  by  many  sad  commixtures,  rose  up  to  shake  and 
darken  the  world.  Convulsion  rushed  upon  the  heels  of  con- 
vulsion, until  it  became  difficult  to  keep  pace  with  the  swift 
shiftings  of  the  fearful  diorama.  The  first  cry  came  from  the 
sunny  plains  of  Lombardy.  The  Milanese  were  in  open  rebel- 
lion. Sicily  next  felt  the  mighty  movement.  The  imbecile 
and  cruel  Bourbon  King  of  Naples  stood  powerless  before  his 
indignant  subjects.  The  Dukes  of  Tuscany,  Parma  and 
Modena  beheld  themselves  suddenly  shorn  of  their  old  au- 
thority. Paris  saw  another  revolution,  and  the  dynasty  of 
Orleans  went  down  forever.  Stern  and  formal  Germany 
rocked  from  one  extremity  to  the  other.  The  throne  of  the 
great  Frederick  seemed  to  turn  to  ashes  before  the  driving 
wind.  The  imperial  crown  fell  from  the  old  master  of  Austria 
before  the  brave  Magyar,  and  its  wearer  driven  as  a  fugitive 
to  the  mountains  of  the  Tyrol.  Rome  shook  from  centre  to 
circumference,  and  threw  off  in  horror  that  pontiff  who  claims 
to  be  the  vicar  of  Christ  and  the  lord  of  all  Christendom.  Eng- 
land herself  was  filled  with  uneasiness,  not  knowing  at  what 
moment  her  proud  fabric  might  lie  level  with  the  dust. 
Every  thing  was  tossed  hither  and  thither  with  the  black 
storms  of  revolutionary  fury.  The  vial  of  the  wrath  of  God 


THE    SIXTH    VIAL.  279 

was  poured  out  upon  the  seat  of  the  beast,  and  threatened 
the  whole  system  of  European  politics  with  utter  destruction. 
But  the  tide  soon  turned.  The  time  for  the  end  had  not 
yet  come.  Despotism  and  tyranny  have  since  entrenched 
themselves  in  their  former  seats  in  redoubled  strength.  And 

O 

disappointed  hope  lies  festering  in  the  bosoms  of  subdued  or 
exiled  revolutionists,  whilst  they  gnaw  their  tongues  in  the 
pains  of  unvented  ire  and  blaspheme  God  for  their  sores  and 
•want  of  success.  The  fifth  vial,  then,  has  been  entirely  aud 
but  recently  fulfilled. 

"And  the  sixth  angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  great 
river  Euphrates;  and  the  water  thereof  was  dried  up,  that 
the  way  of  the  kings  of  the  east  might  be  prepared." 

Numerous  expositors  apply  this  to  the  Turkish  empire,  and 
the  gradual  disappearance  of  that  persecuting  power.  If  this 
be  true,  the  prophecy  is  most  rapidly  fulfilling.  Isaac  Taylor 
says,  "  Mahometan  empire  is  decrepit,  Mahometan  faith  is 
decrepit;  and  both  are  ready  to  vanish-  away."  Lamartiue 
says,  "Turkey  is  perishing  for  want  of  Turks."  Lieutenant 
Lj-nch,  from  what  he  saw  there,  says,  "The  dispassionate  ob- 
server can  already  predict  the  downfall  of  the  Ottoman  em- 
pire. The  handwriting  is  on  the  wall,  and  it  needs  not  a 
Daniel  to  interpret  it."  Gumming  has  collected  a  great 
number  of  most  remarkable  testimonies  to  the  same  effect. 

But  it  seems  to  me  that  this  is  not  the  correct  application 
of  this  prophecy.  The  river  here  mentioned  is  connected 
with  the  mystic  Babylon,  just  as  the  literal  Euphrates  was 
related  to  the  literal  Babylon  that  was  built  upon  it.  The 
mystic  Babylon  is  the  combination  of  nationalized  hierarchies 
or  churches ;  and  the  mystic  Euphrates  must  therefore  refer 
to  the  popular  support  from  which  these  establishments 
derive  their  sustenance  and  riches,  just  as  the  literal  Eu- 
phrates was  the  source  of  the  supplies  of  the  literal  Babylon. 
And  as  ancient  Babylon  was  destroyed  by  the  kings  of  the 


2"80  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

East  by  diverting  the  Euphrates  from  its  proper  channel,  so 
these  state-church  establishments  shall  be  destroyed  by  the 
diversion  and  withdrawing  —  dryiny  up  —  of  their  present 
supports.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  Lord,  Winthrop  and  others 
understand  this  prophecy ;  and  I  see  no  reason  to  dissent  from 
them.  If  this,  then,  be  the  true  application  of  this  vial,  the 
evidences  are  before  us,  and  increasing  every  day,  that  it  is 
beginning  to  be  fulfilled.  The  withdrawnient  of  a  large  body 
of  ministers  and  people  from  the  Scotch  national  church,  the 
extensive  secessions  from  the  Romish  churches  of  Germany, 
the  resignations  of  many  ministers  in  Switzerland,  are  recent 
events  which  accord  exactly  with  this  symbol.  Thousands 
upon  thousands  are  coming  out  of  these  establishments  every 
year  by  immigration  to  our  own  country.  Thousands  in 
Ireland  are  relinquishing  the  old  system  and  embracing  the 
simple  gospel.  In  Italy  and  parts  of  Germany,  the  great 
mass  of  the  population  is  literally  infidel,  and  ready  at  any 
moment  to  murder  every  priest  and  to  rifle  every  church. 
Sardinia  is  in  arms  against  the  ecclesiastical  exactions  under 
which  she  has  suffered.  In  Mexico,  government  has  turned 
its  hand  to  seize  upon  the  hoarded  wealth  of  the  church. 
Every  day  the  ranks  of  secessionists  and  dissenters  are  growing 
and  swelling  in  France,  in  Scotland,  in  England,  in  parts  of 
Germany.  Taxation  for  the  support  of  lordly  and  lazy 
bishops  who  revel  on  their  $200,000  per  annum  is  beginning 
to  grind  hard  upon  men  who  cannot  believe  that  such  luxurious 
parasites  are  the  exclusive  successors  of  the  makers  of  tents 
and  the  menders  of  nets.  Church  hierarchies  and  state 
religious  establishments  are  falling  into  less  and  less  repute 
every  day.  The  waters  of  the  Euphrates  are  drying  up; 
they  are  turning  from  their  channel,  and  soon  shall  the 
destroyers  enter  this  den  of  spiritual  harlotry,  and  great 
Babylon  shall  fall  to  rise  no  more. 

The  first  part  of  this  vial,  therefore,  is  fulfilling.     Upon 


"  SPIRITUALISM."  '_>  1 

the  second  part  I  am  not  so  confident.  John  says,  "  I  saw 
three  unclean  spirits,  like  frogs,  come  out  of  the  mouth  of 
the  dragon,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and  out  of 
the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet.  For  they  are  -vey/zara 
3a'.;j.wu>v — demon-spirits, — -working  miracles,  which  go  forth 
unto  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  of  the  whole  world,  to 
gather  them  to  the  war  of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty." 

This  evidently  refers  to  some  new  and  strangely-successful 
turn  in  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness.  Wonders  are 
to  he  wrought.  Demons  are  to  be  the  agents.  The  move- 
ment is  to  combine  the  elements  of  paganism,  European  poli- 
tics, and  the  false  religion  of  the  papists.  Its  effect  shall  be 
to  marshal  the  powers,  of  the  world  for  their  last  conflict. 
And  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  we  have  the  beginning  of 
all  this  in  the  strange,  infatuating,  and  widely-spreading 
abomination  called  "  SPIRITUALISM."  Paul  most  solemnly 
assures  us  that  "  The  Spirit  (of  Gocfy  tpeaketh  expressly,  fhct 
IN  THE  LATTER  TIMES  some  shall  depart  from  the  faith, 
(jii'niij  heed  to  seducing  spirits,  and  di8affxa).ia.is  datfJLOviwv — 
TEACHINGS  OP  DEMONS — speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy:"  (1  Tim. 
iv.  1,  2.)  I  cannot  dwell  upon  this  now ;  but  I  am  convinced 
that  a  careful  investigation  of  this  system  of  demon  ism  will 
show  many  and  strong  points  of  correspondence  to  what  Paul 
and  John  have  here  written.  It  is  yet  in  its  incipiency. 
Time  will  reveal  the  truth.  But  enough  is  plain  to  show  that 
we  are  now  living  in  the  period  of  the  sixth  vial.  The  fifth 
reached  its  acme  eight  years  ago.  The  sixth  certainly  has 
begun.  And  it  is  in  connection  with  this  sixth  vial  that 
Jesus  says,  "  BEHOLD,  I  COME." 

My  brethren,  look  at  it,  and  put  not  the  solemn  truth  away 
from  you.  Here  are  three  wholly  different  and  independent 
methods  of  ascertaining  something  as  to  the  period  when  our 
blessed  Lord  shall  come ;  and  each  of  the  three,  according  to 
our  very  best  information  on  the  subject,  gives  forth  the 

24* 


282  THE    LAST    TIMES. 

distinct   and   firm    testimony   that  we   are   at   this   moment 
treading  the  very  margin  of  the  great  consummation. 

There  is  still  another  method  of  learning  when  the  final 
advent  is  near,  the  presentation  of  which  I  will  reserve  for 
another  discourse.  But,  look  in  whatever  direction  we  may, 
we  shall  only  find  the  evidence  thickening  that  the  time  has 
wellnigh  come. 

"The  tide  of  pomp 
That  beats  upon  the  high  shore  of  this  world," 

is   ebbing  fast.     Soon   shall   those   great   solemn   words   bo 
spoken, — "Ix  is  DONE!" 

"  Six  thousand  years  of  sorrow  have  wellnigh 
Fulfilled  their  tardy  and  disastrous  course 
Over  a  sinful  world ;  and  what  remains 
Of  this  tempestuous  state  of  human  things 
Is  merely  as  the  working  of  the  sea 
Before  a  calm  that  rocks  itself  to  rest. 

The  world  appears 

To  toll  the  death-bell  of  its  own  decease, 
And  by  the  voice  of  all  its  elements 
To  preach  the  general  doom  !" 

And  after  gathering  together  all  the  light  within  my  reach, 
I  say  to  you,  in  all  seriousness  and  honesty,  that  I  believe 
there  are  some  listening  to  me  now  who  will  never  taste  of  death 
till  they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven 
with  power  and  great  glory.  You  may  consider  me  beside 
myself  if  you  will.  You  may  take  heed  to  my  announcement, 
or  you  may  despise  it  as  folly.  You  may  be  wise,  and  prepare 
to  meet  God,  or  you  may  take  the  opiates  of  unbelief,  and  say, 
"  No  danger  !  no  danger  !"  But,  in  the  name  of  that  Jesus 
whom  I  believe  to  have  sent  me  to  you  as  his  ambassador,  I 
declare  to  you  that  "  THE  COMING  OF  THE  LORD  DRAWETH 
NIGH  !" 

What,  then,  is  to  be  done  ?     Shall  we  turn  aside  from  our 


THE    DUTY    OF    CHRISTIANS.  283 

avocations  and  give  ourselves  up  to  dejection  or  the  silly  con- 
ceits of  wild  enthusiasts  ?  No,  no,  no.  We  must  only  stand 
the  firmer  to  our  posts.  The  command  of  Jesus  is,  "  OCCUPY 
TILL  I  COME."  We  must  keep  steadfastly  to  the  duties  of 
our  places,  and  do  with  our  might  what  our  hands  find  to  do, 
and  work  and  wait,  and  wait  as  we  work,  until  Christ  shall 
call  to  us  from  the  heavens,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servants;  enter  ye  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord!"  He  never 
meant  that  the  promise  of  his  coming  should  frighten  us,  or 
depress  us,  or  make  us  unhappy.  He  meant  it  for  the  comfort 
of  his  people  in  their  trials,  to  inflame  their  zeal,  to  inspire 
their  hopes,  and  to  serve  as  a  sort  of  present  compensation  for 
their  toils  and  sufferings.  Instead  of  being  discomfited,  then, 
as  we  see  the  time  drawing  near,  let  us  rather  be  joyful,  and 
lift  up  our  heads,  and  press  for  the  crowns  that  are  drawing 
so  close.  The  faithless  and  the  impenitent  may  well  be 
alarmed  and  be  moved  to  cry  for  mercy ;  but  for  those  who 
have  laid  up  their  treasures  in  the  world  to  come,  the  scenes 
at  hand  are  full  of  gladness. 

The  admonition  of  the  text  is,  "StablisJi  your  hearts." 
That  is,  we  are  to  grasp  firm  hold  of  the  exceeding  great  and 
precious  promises  of  Jesus,  and  rest  confidently  upon  God's 
sublime  covenant  of  mercy,  and  make  up  our  minds  to  stand 
or  fall  clasping  the  cross,  and  we  shall  be  safe.  We  must 
settle  our  souls  upon  Him  who  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost, 
and  give  ourselves  fully  up  to  be  his  followers  and  servants, 
and  he  will  not  disown  us  in  that  great  day.  Though  we  may 
have  been  slumbering  long  upon  Delilah's  lap,  if  we  will  only 
rouse  up  and  keep  to  our  duty  in  Christ  Jesus  we  shall  have 
strength  against  all  our  foes  and  all  our  dangers. 

Let  me  exhort  you,  then,  by  the  stirring  solemnities  of  this 
theme,  to  be  up  and  doing.  "Awake,  thou  that  sleepest,  and 
arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light."  If  you 
have  been  prayerless  hitherto,  begin  at  once  to  call  upon  that 


28-4  THE    LAST 

Savior  who  has  never  yet  despised  the  cry  of  a  sincere  sup- 
pliant. If  you  have  never  avowed  yourself  a  disciple  of  Jesus, 
do  it  at  once,  and  put  yourself  within  the  range  of  that  prof- 
fered grace  which  God  has  declared  to  be  sufficient  for  you. 
"Be  not  afraid ;  only  believe."  And  if  you  are  depressed, 
burdened,  or  cast  down  at  the  prospect  before  us,  listen  to  the 
sweet  voice  of  the  Savior,  as  he  tenderly  says  to  you  and  to 
all,  "  COME  UNTO  ME,  ALL  YE  THAT  LABOR  AND  ARE  HEAVY 

LADEN,  AND  I  WILL  GIVE  YOU  REST.  TAKE  MY  YOKE  UPON 
YOU,  AND  LEARN  OF  ME,  AND  YE  SHALL  FIND  REST  UNTO 
YOUR  SOULS." 


TWELFTH  DISCOURSE. 

RECAPITULATION FOURTH    METHOD    OF    ASCERTAINING    WHEN    CHRIST 

SHALL  COME,  OR  THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES — THE  SENTIMENTS  OF 
DISTINGUISHED  MEN  RESPECTING  THE  NEARNESS  OF  THE  END — THE 
INTENSE  DESIRABLENESS  OF  THE  SAVIOR'S  COMING CONCLUSION. 


LVKE  xxi.  28:  And  when  these  things  begin  to  come  to  pass,  then 
look  iip,  and  lift  up  your  heads:  for  your  redemption  drawdli 
nigh. 

IT  is  now  three  months  since  I  commenced  discoursing  to 
you  upon  the  holy  prophecies  concerning  "  The  Last  Times." 
And  though  I  have  announced  this  as  my  last  discourse  in 
this  series,  I  find  that  I  have  not  uttered  the  half  that  I 
originally  contemplated.  I  have  presented  only  some  frag- 
ments of  the  grand  system  of  God's  purposes,  as  I  think  I 
see  it  revealed  in  his  holy  word.  I  regret  that  I  have  not 
been  able  to  say  more  and  to  say  it  better.  Nevertheless, 
under  the  divine  blessing,  what  I  have  said  may  not  be 
in  vain.  It  may  serve  to  set  you  upon  trains  of  thought  and 
investigation,  and  thus  conduct  you  to  a  knowledge  of  what  is 
coming  on  the  earth,  which  perhaps  you  would  not  other- 
wise have  reached.  I  thank  God  that  he  has  preserved  my 
life  and  health  to  pursue  these  studies  thus  far,  and  that  so 
many  have  given  me  their  serious  attention,  notwithstanding 
the  obstacles  interposed  by  a  winter  of  unwonted  severity. 
The  pleasure  and  profit  which  these  efforts  have  given  me 
more  than  repay  for  the  toils  they  have  cost,  whilst  I  have  the 
further  comfort  of  knowing  that  they  have  been  blest  to  tho 

285 


286  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

good  of  immortal  souls.  Prophecy  was  "  written  for  our 
learning,  that  we  through  patience  and  comfort  of  the 
Scriptures  might  have  hope;"  and  in  fulfillment  of  this  end 
have  I  thus  been  engaged  upon  it.  I  preach  for  no  other 
purpose  than  to  render  you  wiser,  better  and  happier.  I 
stand  here  only  to  help  you  to  become  more  heavenly  in 
your  thoughts,  more  angelic  in  your  affections  and  more 
Christ-like  in  your  character.  And  if  ever  I  should  lose  sight 
of  this  great  aim  of  my  office,  I  should  fear  that  my  tongue 
would  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth. 

It  is,  perhaps,  the  greatest  failing  of  the  Christians  of  this 
generation  that  they  are  too  speculative  and  imitative  in  their 
religion.  We  are  too  easily  satisfied  with  floating  notions  of 
what  the  Scriptures  teach,  without  searching  and  verifying 
for  ourselves.  We  are  too  prone  to  think  it  enough  to 
comply  with  popular  religious  customs,  and  to  assent  indefi- 
nitely to  the  belief  current  among  those  around  us.  We  do 
not  draw  our  ideas  and  our  hopes  with  sufficient  directness 
from  the  fountains  of  truth,  nor  bring  the  teaching  of  reve- 
lation home  to  our  hearts  with  the  proper  practical  earnest- 
ness. We  are  orthodox  enough,  but  too  uu  devout.  We 
assent  to  the  revealments  of  God,  but  we  do  not  drink  them 
in,  and  imbed  them  in  our  souls,  and  wrap  them  up  in  the 
warm  embrace  of  our  affections,  as  we  should.  Dr.  Chalmers 
once  said,  "  I  have  all  my  life  viewed  the  truths  of  Christianity 
too  much  in  the  way  of  speculation,  and  as  if  at  a  distance.  I 
have  not  closed  with  them ;  I  have  not  laid  hold  of  them ;  I 
have  not  apprehended  them.  I  have  been  persuaded  of  the 
truth  of  the  promise?,  but  not  embraced  them.  With  the 
exception  of  an  occasional  gleam  of  light  and  comfort  from 
the  freeness  of  the  gospel,  I  have  had  no  steady,  habitual, 
personal  sense  of  that  freeness.  I  have  abundantly  ac- 
knowledged it,  but  have  not  used  it." 

This  is  a  sad  confession,  and  a  statement  too  true  of  many 


LUKEWARMNESS    OF    MODERN    CHRISTIANS.  287 

modern  Christians  even  of  the  more  reputable  sort.  What 
we  need  is  a  new  baptism  in  the  faith  which  appreciates  the 
power  of  divine  truth  and  sees  and  feels  its  reality.  We 
need  some  spiritual  solvent  to  reduce  our  knowledge  to  wis- 
dom and  our  intellectual  assent  to  a  hearty  consent.  We 
need  a  more  vivid  and  abiding  apprehension  of  what  God  hath 
said,  that  we  may  live  more  in  and  upon  his  word.  Nor  is 
this  anywhere  more  needed  than  upon  the  thrilling  themes  we 
have  been  considering.  Though  there  is  not  a  doctrine  of  our 
holy  Christianity  more  largely  treated  in  the  Scriptures,  more 
definitely  asserted  in  all  the  creeds,  more  touchingly  celebrated 
in  our  sacred  songs,  or  more  constantly  acknowledged  in  our 
Bermons  and  our  prayers,  than  the  coming  again  of  Christ; 
yet  there  is  hardly  another  article  of  faith  so  coldly,  remotely, 
indefinitely  and  fruitlessly  apprehended.  Though  it  involves 
all  our  sublimest  hopes,  and  is  the  basis  of  our  most  precious 
expectations,  how  few  ever  advert  to  it  as  a  reality,  or  have 
any  clear  conceptions  of  it !  Though  it  is  the  culmination  of 
human  hope  and  destiny,  to  how  many  is  it  a  mere  dead  letter, 
awakening  no  emotion,  exciting  no  concern  and  making 
no  impression !  Though  nobody  disputes  it,  yet  who  feels  it 
or  lays  hold  of  it  as  a  literal  truth?  As  a  vital  thing,  it  has 
welluigh  dropped  out  of  the  creed.  Its  practical  influences 
upon  men's  hearts  and  lives  have  become  so  feeble  as  to  be 
almost  imperceptible.  When  Christianity  was  pure,  this  doc- 
trine was  among  the  most  vivifying  of  the  faith.  Men  be- 
lieved it,  and  it  quenched  the  fear  of  death  and  made  martyr- 
dom a  thing  to  be  coveted ;  but  now  it  stands  upon  our  books 
like  a  superannuated  fable.  Then  it  beamed  forth  a  light  and 
life  which  lifted  the  soul  up  in  sublime  and  joyous  anticipa- 
tions; but  now  it  has  become  like  the  mute  letters  in  the 
spelling  of  certain  words,  which,  for  all  practical  purposes, 
might  as  well  be  omitted  as  retained.  These  are  deplorable 
facts.  They  speak  badly  for  our  experience  in  divine  things, 


288  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

and  tell  a  mournful  tale  for  modern  Christianity.  Who,  then, 
can  mistake  the  plain  duty  of  a  faithful  minister  in  such  a  case  ? 
The  subject  is  too  momentous  to  be  trifled  with.  Our  respon- 
sibilities are  too  solemn  for  us  to  be  unconcerned.  Hence,  in 
much  weakness,  but  with  honesty  of  purpose,  I  have  endea- 
vored to  raise  my  voice  in  serious  warning,  and  made  it  my 
studied  aim  to  give  no  "uncertain  sound."  Firmly  believing 
that  "  He  that  shall  come  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry/'  I 
have  labored  hard  to  advise  you  of  his  approach,  and  to  have 
you  wide  awake,  that  that  day  may  not  overtake  you  unawares. 

I  have  accordingly  gone  back  to  the  original  fountains  of 
information  upon  the  subject.  I  have  tried  to  show  where 
and  how  it  is  presented  in  the  Scriptures.  I  have  called  your 
attention  especially  to  Christ's  own  great  predictions  respecting 
it,  and  endeavored  to  brush  away  some  of  the  cobwebs  of  a 
perverted  erudition  with  which  modern  commentation  has 
obscured  and  defaced  it,  and  shown  that  the  Savior  means 
exactly  what  he  says. 

I  have  proven  to  you,  in  the  second  place,  that  Christ's 
coming  is  not  to  be  a  thousand  years  hence,  at  the  end  of  a 
fancied  millennium  of  universal  righteousness,  liberty  and 
peace;  that  sin,  oppression  and  antichristianism  shall  prevail 
in  the  world  until  he  comes;  and  that  only  his  personal 
presence  and  administrations  on  earth  will  make  the  mil- 
lennium, or  impart  to  this  lower  creation  the  redemption  for 
which  it  sighs. 

In  the  third  place,  I  showed  that  the  prevailing  notion  that 
when  Christ  comes  it  will  be  to  depopulate,  destroy  and  anni- 
hilate the  earth,  is  the  mere  dream  of  poets,  without  founda- 
tion in  the  word  of  Grod.  This  earth  shall  endure  forever, 
and  in  the  light  of  its  sister  worlds  roll  on  to  all  eternity.  It 
will  be  changed  in  its  fashion,  but  not  destroyed.  It  will  be 
renovated,  but  not  depopulated.  It  will  be  restored,  not  anni- 
hilated. It  will  yet  be  the  bright  dwelling-place  of  righteous- 


RECAPITULATION.  L'^'.t 

ness  and  peace.  The  will  of  God  shall  yet  be  done  here  as  it 
is  in  heaven.  It  will  be  the  perpetual  home  of  a  saintly 
population,  reflecting  the  glory  of  its  Maker  and  rejoicing 
forever  in  his  smiles.  All  that  is  vile  in  principle  or  impure 
in  effect  will  be  purged  away;  but  its  firm  substance,  its 
splendid  scenery,  and  its  impressive  images  of  the  Creator's 
power  and  the  Redeemer's  love,  shall  never  end.  After  Christ 
shall  come  and  set  up  his  throne  here,  as  Chalmers  says, 
"There  will  be  a  firm  earth,  as  we  have  at  present,  and  a 
heaven  stretched  over  it,  as  at  present;  and  it  is  not  by  the 
absence  of  these,  but  the  absence  of  sin,  that  the  abodes  of 
immortality  will  be  characterized.  There  will  be  both  heavens 
and  earth  in  the  next  great  administration,  with  only  this 
specialty  to  mark  it  from  the  present  one,  that  it  will  be  a 
heavens  and  earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness." 

I  next  explained  the  resurrection,  showing  that  the  resur- 
rection for  which  we  arc  to  aim  and  hope  is  an  eclectic  resur- 
rection,— a  resurrection  of  them  that  sleep  in  Jesus  from 
among  the  dead  at  Christ's  coming,  and  that  "the  rest  of  the 
dead"  shall  not  live  again  until  the  thousand  years  are 
finished. 

I  have  also  exhibited  the  Scriptural  evidences  of  the  great 
fact  that  the  Messiah's  reign  is  to  be  in  this  world  ID  a  uni- 
versal and  eternal  kingdom  of  bliss  and  glory. 

I  have  endeavored  to  expound  to  you  the  mysterious  doc- 
trine and  administrations  of  the  coming  judgment:  how  it 
now  exists,  how  it  will  be  manifested  at  Christ's  coming,  and 
how  it  will  affect  the  various  classes  concerned. 

I  have  unfolded  to  you  the  destiny  of  the  Jewish  race : 
their  restoration,  their  sanctification,  their  blessed  condition  in 
the  millennium,  and  the  good  that  is  yet  to  come  to  the  world 
through  them. 

I  have  placed  before  you  something  of  the  world  to  come, 
where  Christ's  sovereign  and  personal  rule  is  to  be  revealed, — 
T  25 


290  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

that  new  earth,  in  which  the  entire  creation  shall  again  return 
to  its  pristine  loveliness,  and  where,  as  Heber  sings, 

"On  David's  throne  shnll  David's  offspring  reign, 
And  the  dry  bones  be  warm  with  life  again, 
Ten  thousand  harps  attune  the  mystic  song, 
Ten  thousand  thousand  saints  the  strain  prolong, — 
'Worthy  the  Lamb!  Omnipotent  to  save, 
Who  died,  who  lives,  triumphant  o'er  the  grave !' " 

I  have  further  shown  you  that  these  are  no  mere  dreams, 
now  for  the  first  time  broached,  or  found  only  in  the  rhapso- 
dies of  enthusiastic  minds.  I  have  proven  to  you  that  such 
were  substantially  the  hopes  of  the  church  before  Christ  came 
as  the  child  of  Mary;  that  Jesus  and  his  inspired  apostles 
epoke  of  these  hopes  as  deeply  founded  in  the  purposes  and 
promises  of  God ;  that  they  were  entertained,  preached  and 
gloried  in  by  those  who  received  their  instructions  from 
apostolic  lips,  and  by  the  Luthers,  and  Arndts,  and  Paleys, 
and  Baxters,  and  Weslcys,  and  Halls,  and  Edwardses  and 
Chalmerses  of  the  first  three  hundred  years  of  the  Christian 
church ;  that  no  Christian  ever  disputed  them  previous  to  the 
time  of  Origen ;  and  that  they  are  now  held  and  proclaimed  by 
hundreds  and  thousands  among  the  purest,  the  most  eloquent, 
the  most  learned,  and  the  most  useful  of  the  children  of  God  on 
the  face  of  the  earth.  How  the  church  came  to  lose  sight  of 
these  hopes  I  have  also  indicated.  It  was  popery  that  obscured 
them  and  cast  them  into  darkness.  First  came  Origen's  fanci- 
ful method  of  interpreting  the  Scriptures,  casting  uncertainty 
upon  the  clearest  statements,  and  introducing  a  way  of  expo- 
sition which  all  men  unite  in  lamenting  and  condemning. 
Then  came  the  desire  to  render  the  Christian  faith  palatable 
to  a  Roman  emperor,  and  then  to  the  papal  usurper,  leading 
to  a  repudiation  of  a  part  of  the  Bible  and  the  mutilation  and 
interpolation  of  the  writings  of  the  fathers.  And  thus,  as  the 
joint  work  of  Origen's  vagaries  and  the  sycophantic  spirit 


KEOAl'lTl  LATIDX  201 

and  corrupt  principles  of  some  who  canie  after  him,  a  disposi- 
tion was  made  of  these  great  anticipations  from  which  every 
good  man  should  recoil  with  horror.  It  was  a  stroke  of  Satan 
to  cheat  the  Bride  of  Jesus  out  of  her  subliiuest  dowry.  To 
this  day  the  church  is  more  or  less  under  the  influence  of  that 
deception.  Nor  can  we  do  duty  to  ourselves  or  to  the  truth 
of  God,  and  yet  patiently  acquiesce  in  a  decision  brought 
about  in  a  way  so  unchristian  and  unwarrantable.  Nay,  I  feel 
confident  that  when  once  we  have  fairly  examined  this  whole 
matter,  the  pure  millenarian  doctrine  will  be  held  and 
preached  as  one  of  the  most  glorious  articles  of  our  most  holy 
faith. 

But  I  have  gone  further  than  all  this.  I  have  not  only 
maintained  that  Christ  will  come  again  to  this  world  to  judge, 
subdue,  renovate  and  reign  in  it  forever,  but  that  he  will 
come  very  soon.  I  have  ventured  to  proclaim  my  fixed  belief 
that  his  coming  is  near  at  hand.  I  do  not  know  the  day  or 
the  year;  but  I  have  shown  you,  as  I  think,  that  God  does  not 
mean  that  we  should  remain  in  total  ignorance  of  the  period 
of  his  coming.  In  every  other  great  event  that  he  has 
brought  about  in  human  affairs,  he  has  given  pre-intimations 
of  the  time  when  it  would  be;  and  we  cannot  suppose  that 
the  time  of  the  great  consummating  event  of  all  is  shrouded 
in  such  perfect  secrecy  as  that  we  can  know  nothing  till  it 
comes.  We  accordingly  find  various  dates  and  signs  described 
in  the  Scriptures,  from  which  we  may  learn  enough  to  prevent 
our  being  surprised  by  it. 

In  my  last  I  gave  three  different  methods  by  which  light 
may  be  thrown  upon  this  subject.  First,  the  Scriptures  fur- 
nish a  system  of  septenaries,  or  sevens,  from  which  we  learn 
that  Christ  will  come  at  the  end  of  six  thousand  years  from 
the  creation  of  man;  which  period,  according  to  our  best 
information,  will  run  out  within  the  next  twenty  or  forty 
years.  We  next  find  the  duration  of  the  papal  dominancy, 


292  THE    LAST    TIMES. 

which  is  to  be  destroyed  only  when  Christ  comes,  limited  to 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years,  which  term  must  needs 
expire  within  ten  or  twenty  years  from  the  present  date.  lu 
the  third  place,  we  find  a  description  of  the  seven  last  plagues, 
in  connection  with  the  sixth  of  which  Christ's  coming  is 
announced,  and  all  of  which  up  to  the  sixth  have  clearly  been 
fulfilled,  whilst  we  are  now  entering  upon  the  sixth.  These 
three  processes  of  computation,  independent  but  harmonious, 
unconnected  yet  mutually  corroborative,  are  sufficient  to  prove 
to  us  that  we  are  treading  close  upon  the  time  when  all  God's 
purposes  shall  be  fulfilled. 

There  is,  however,  still  another  method  of  gaining  informa- 
tion upon  this  point,  to  which  I  will  direct  your  attention. 
The  Scriptures  very  minutely  describe  certain  signs  which  are 
to  precede  the  final  advent,  and  direct  us  to  look  for  those 
signs,  and  assure  us  that  "when  these  things  begin  to  come  to 
pass"  we  may  know  that  the  great  event  is  near,  even  at  the 
door.  Let  us  then  trace  some  of  these  signs,  and  look  to  see 
whether  they  have  as  yet  appeared  or  not. 

1.  The  Scriptures  very  distinctly  tell  us  that  the  period  of 
Christ's  coming  shall  be  a  period  of  abounding  apostasy,  skep- 
ticism and  wickedness.  I  need  not  again  repeat  the  passages 
on  this  point.  "As  the  days  of  Noe  were,  so  shall  it  be  also 
in  the  days  of  the  Son  of  man."  As  Milton  says,  "the 
first  peculiar  sign  (of  the  final  advent)  is  an  extreme  reckless- 
ness and  impiety,  and  an  almost  universal  apostasy."  And 
what  a  distressing  agreement  to  this  do  we  find  in  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  present  times !  Look  at  Christendom  itself. 
About  one-half  of  those  who  profess  and  call  themselves 
Christians  are  wrapped  up  in  the  foul  embrace  of  Popery, 
where  it  is  the  fashion,  if  not  the  law,  to  put  aside  the  Scrip- 
tures as  dangerous,  to  trust  to  the  word  of  the  priest  for  for- 
giveness, to  pray  to  Mary  as  the  great  intercessor,  to  adore  the 
pope  as  the  vicegerent  of  God,  to  hold  for  doctrines  the  mere 


PRESENT    DEPRAVITY   OF    THE    WORLD.  293 

commandments  of  men,  and  to  look  for  admission  into  heaven 
through  human  works.  The  millions  in  the  Greek  and  Ori- 
ental churches  are  scarcely  any  better  in  regard  to  what  con- 
cerns the  vital  matters  of  evangelical  godliness.  Look  even 
at  Protestantism, — how  fearfully  corrupt  in  some  of  its 
branches !  How  divided  and  torn  by  the  low  bickerings  of 
sect  and  schism  !  What  vast  numbers  are  in  our  churches  as 
well  as  in  papal  churches  who  arc  nothing  more  than  baptized 
infidels !  How  many  who  commune  at  our  altars  are  not  half 
persuaded  of  the  truth  of  the  professions  which  they  make ! 
Look  at  the  moral  and  religious  condition  of  the  nation-  at 
large,  even  those  the  most  enlightened  and  Christian.  See 
how  crime  flourishes  and  infidelity  vaunts  itself.  What  are 
our  secular  newspapers  but  registers  of  depravity,  avarice,  am- 
bition, lawlessness  and  sin  ?  See  the  inefficiency  of  law  or 
gospel  to  restrain  the  violence  of  passion,  or  to  keep  under  the 
brazen  iniquity  which  rears  its  head  aloft  on  every  side.  Be- 
hold your  crowded  infidel  clubs,  your  besotted  revolutionary 
combinations,  and  your  hardened  and  daring  propagandists  of 
falsehood,  treason  and  all  forms  of  social  disruption.  See  with 
what  popular  favor  the  basest  of  men  set  themselves  np  as 
Grod's  oracles,  claiming  inspiration  from  heaven  whilst  preach- 
ing death  to  the  church  and  to  the  state,  and  listened  to 
with  admiration  by  thousands  who  still  wish  to  be  considered 
virtuous  and  even  Christian.  See  with  what  readiness  people 
reputed  intelligent  take  up  with  the  lowest  delusions,  and  stand 
forth  as  the  abettors  and  defenders  of  some  of  the  foulest 
emissions  of  hell.  Behold  how  even  great  men,  professed 
theologians,  editors,  professors,  lecturers  and  men  in  high 
places  of  influence,  adopt,  advocate  and  preach  theories  of 
pretended  science  and  philosophy  which  unsettle  the  very 
foundations  of  piety  and  faith.  What  contempt  for  Chris- 
tianity, and  disrespect  for  its  ministers,  and  callousness  to  its 
great  truths,  do  we  everywhere  encounter !  And  may  we  not 

Lv   ' 


294  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

conclude,  with  the  great  Luther,  that  "  God  will  not,  cannot, 
suffer  this  wicked  world  much  longer  ?" 

2.  Another  sign  of  the  Savior's  coming  is  to  be  found  in 
great  revolutionary  troubles,  political    perplexities   and  vast 
national  agitations.    The  Savior  himself,  and  all  the  prophets, 
have  taught  us  this.     And  never  have  the  universal  political 
heavens  been  so  shaken  as  in  our  day.     When  were  human 
politics  so  confused,  contradictory,  perplexing  and  threatening 
as  now  ?     Look  at  them  from  one  end  of  the  world  to  the 
other.    Who  among  the  great  ones  of  the  earth  can  tell  where 
he  stands?     Behold  the  strange  alliances,  the  deep,  sudden 
and  mysterious  antipathies,  the  unforeseen   combinations  of 
events,  and  the  unknown  tendencies  of  mighty  inscrutable 
movements,  which  have  been  manifesting  themselves  all  over 
the  world  in  these  last  days.     Who  can  tell  what  shall  be 
next  ?     If  it  is  war,  who  knows  where  it  will  end  ?     If  it  is 
peace,  who  is  sure  that  it  will  not  prove  as  disastrous  as  war  ? 
In  either  case,  mighty  dangers  everywhere  threaten.     Democ- 
racy, republicanism,  autocracy  and  military  despotism  have 
about  equal  chances;  and  neither  has  any  rational  hope.     As 
things  now  are,  no  conceivable  human  arrangements  can  steer 
clear  of  the  mighty  maelstrom  which  seems  to  have  drawn 
all  the  nations  within  the  circle  of  its  awful  whirl.     Men  of 
wisdom,  men  of  Ahithophel  astuteness,  are  at  their  wits'  end, 
and  the  prudent  and  the  far-sighted  are  growing  wild  with 
amazement  and  fear.    With  all  that  can  be  done,  things  refuse 
to  bend  to  any  mortal  control.     The  ship  answers  no  more  to 
the  helm.     .There  is  not  a  government  on  earth  that  is  not 
quaking  with  commotion.     Every  thing  is  moving,  but  whi- 
ther politicians  cannot  tell. 

3.  A  third  sign  of  the  nearness  of  the  end  is  a  stir  and 
inquiry  among  many  respecting  the  subject,  leading  to  the 
conviction  that  Christ  is  at  hand.     This  is  set  forth  in  two 
passages,  the  one  in  Daniel,  tho  other  in  the  Lord's  prophecy 


THE    SPIRIT   OP   INQUIRY  AAVAKKNING.  295 

in  the  twenty-fifth  of  Matthew.  The  passage  in  Daniel  is, 
"  O  Daniel,  shut  up  the  words,  and  seal  the  book,  even  to  the 
time  of  the  end ;  many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and  l:i«,irl  ,t^G 
shall  Le  increased."  That  is,  in  the  period  of  the  end,  as 
Michaelis  interprets,  "  many  shall  give  their  sedulous  atten- 
tion to  the  understanding  of  these  things;"  or,  according  to 
a  marginal  note  in  an  old  English  Bible,  "  many  shall  run  to 
and  fro  to  search  the  knowledge  of  these  mysteries."  Dr. 
Gill  thus  explains  the  passage : — "  Towards  the  time  of  the 
end  appointed,  many  shall  be  stirred  up  to  inquire  into  these 
things  delivered  in  this  book,  and  will  spare  no  pains  or  cost 
to  get  a  knowledge  of  them ;  and,  with  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  them,  the  knowledge  of  this  book  of  prophecy  will  be 
increased,  things  will  appear  clearer  and  plainer  the  nearer 
the  accomplishment  of  them."  Luther's  rendering  of  it  is  as 
follows: — "And  now,  Daniel,  shut  up  these  words,  and  seal 
this  book,  until  the  last  times ;  when  many  shall  come  over 
it,  and  find  great  understanding."  Coke,  Clarke,  Henry  and 
Duffield  understand  the  passage  in  the  same  way.  It  is  about 
equivalent  to  that  other  declaration  in  the  same  chapter  and 
concerning  the  same  period  of  the  end, — "The  wise  shall  un- 
derstand." And  as  the  result  of  all  this  inquiry  and  enlight- 
enment on  the  subject  of  prophecy,  the  Savior  tells  us  that 
"  then  shall  the  kingdom  of  heaven  be  likened  unto  ten  vir- 
gins which  went  out  to  meet  the  bridegroom,  and  their 
cry  made,  Behold,  the  bride  groom  cometh  ;  tjo  ye  out  to  meet 
hi  in." 

And  how  evidently  and  significantly  has  this  mark  of  the 
cud  been  manifesting  itself  within  the  last  fifty  years  !  Though 
the  multitude  still  turn-  from  prophecy  as  from  a  sealed  book, 
yet  what  a  stir,  anxiety  and  study  has  it  awakened  in  many 
earnest  minds !  I  have  counted  more  than  one  hundred 
authors  who  have  written  and  published  nearly  twice  as  many 
volumes  on  the  subjects  of  unfulfilled  prophecies  since  the 


290  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

present  century  began,  and  most  of  whom  have  advocated  and 
proclaimed  substantially  the  same  views  presented  in  these 
discourses.  Many  of  them  differ  with  each  other ;  but  they 
differ  mostly  as  the  clocks  of  the  same  city, — only  in  minutes, 
not  in  hours.  Their  leading  conclusions  are  the  same.  In 
every  denomination,  and  in  every  Christian  country,  the  sub- 
ject is  being  studied  and  agitated.  Everywhere  there  are 
men  of  God  proclaiming  the  great  doctrine  of  Christ's  speedy 
coming  to  reign  with  his  saints  upon  the  earth.  In  England, 
in  Scotland,  in  France,  in  our  own  country,  in  Germany,  in 
Norway,  in  Russia,  in  India,  in  the  isles  of  the  sea,  the  cry 
has  been  raised,  "  BEHOLD,  THE  BRIDEGROOM  COMETH  ;  GO 
YE  OUT  TO  MEET  HIM  !"  Never,  never,  since  the  days  of 
the  early  Christians,  has  there  been  so  much  earnest  long- 
ing, expecting,  preaching,  believing  and  praying  upon  the 
subject  of  the  nearness  of  Christ's  coming.  The  interest,  the 
study  and  the  faith  are  by  no  means  as  general  as  they 
should  be,  but  general  and  intense,  enlightened  and  earnest 
enough  to  warrant  us  in  saying  that  this  sign  of  the  end  has 
appeared. 

4.  Another  indication  to  which  the  Scriptures  refer  upon 
this  subject  is  the  general  shaking  and  crumbling  of  social 
order.  "  In  the  last  days  perilous  times  shall  come."  There 
shall  be  "dreamers  who  despise  dominion,  and  speak  evil  of 
dignities,  and  of  those  things  which  they  know  not."  God 
says,  "  I  will  shake  all  nations,  and  the  Desire  of  nations  shall 
come."  "  Yet  once  more  I  shake  not  the  earth  only,  but  also 
heaven."  "I  will  overturn,  overturn,  overturn  it,  until  he 
come  whose  right  it  is ;  and  I  will  give  it  him." 

And  how  manifestly  arc  these  signs  fulfilling!  What  is 
now  the  leading  watchword  that  is  convulsing  the  whole  earth 
from  the  equator  to  the  poles  ?  Reform,  reform,  reform ! 
The  church  must  be  reformed;  government  must  be  reformed; 
every  thing  must  be  reformed.  Nothing  is  any  longer  right 


THE   PASSION   FOR   REFORM.  297 

or  adequate  for  dotard  humanity.  Laws,  creeds,  politics,  the- 
ology, worship,  venerable  customs,  all  are  found  fault  with  by 
the  restless  spirit  that  is  abroad,  and  must  be  revised,  changed, 
recast,  and  reconstructed  on  other  models  which  cannot  be 
agreed  upon.  The  fathers  of  old  have  become  mere  infants ; 
the  intellectual  giants  of  other  times  have  dwindled  into 
dwarfs ;  the  great  emancipators  of  the  world  have  degenerated 
into  dreaming  schoolboys,  who  knew  nothing  of  humanity's 
wants,  and  never  comprehended  the  will  of  God  or  the  good 
of  man.  Suddenly  it  has  been  discovered  that  our  domestic 
institutions  are  wrong,  that  our  marriage-laws  are  wrong,  that 
our  entire  legislation  is  wrong,  that  the  wisest  cabinets  arc 
composed  of  fools,  that  our  church  arrangements  are  imbecile, 
that  old-fashioned  religion  is  mere  hypocrisy  and  cant,  and 
that  whatever  is,  is  wrong.  Protestantism  must  needs  have  a 
new  foundation,  and  men  are  tinkering  to  effect  it.  Catholi- 
cism must  have  an  addition  to  its  creed,  and  a  special  conven- 
tion was  just  called  to  inaugurate  the  miserable  absurdity. 
And  we  must  have  new  recensions,  and  new  liturgies,  and  new 
interpretations,  and  new  distributions  of  powers  in  church 
and  state,  and  even  new  gospels,  until  every  thing  rocks  and 
totters  in  the  throes  of  approaching  dissolution.  Young 
America,  and  young  England,  and  young  France,  and  young 
Italy,  and  young  China,  and  the  ruling  spirit  even  where 
things  have  been  stagnant  for  ages,  now  cry,  "  Down  with 
the  world's  old  props  !  Down  with  the  rickety  regime  of  other 
days !"  And  everybody  is  in  the  intensest  earnest.  As  Car- 
lyle  says,  "  The  age  of  shams  is  past."  Every  sect,  party, 
clique,  club  and  faction,  and  every  individual  man,  seems  to 
be  determined  that  his  own  way  shall  carry.  There  is  no 
yielding,  no  compromise,  no  ear  open  to  the  counselings  of 
moderation  or  entreaty.  All  is  being  unsettled,  canvassed, 
distracted  and  rendered  impotent,  except  in  that  direction  in 
which  the  wave  may  for  the  moment  dash.  Never  before 


295  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

were  such  mighty  conflicting  forces  at  work  in  our  world. 
Never  before  has  there  been  such  a  deep  and  universal  agita- 
tion upon  all  that  respects  the  interests  of  man.  Govern- 
ments the  most  powerful,  ideas  the  most  potent  and  customs 
the  most  firmly  rooted  are  becoming  mere  playthings  in  the 
hands  of  remorseless  and  determined  revolution.  Surely  the 
signal  for  the  end  has  come.  This  loud  cry  from  every  quar- 
ter for  reform,  change  and  something  new,  only  proves  that 
"  SOCIETY  is  SICK"  and  nearing  its  dissolution,  and  yet,  like 
the  sick  man,  imagines  that  if  its  bed  were  changed  it  would 
be  well.  Alas,  alas,  for  the  projects  and  dreamy  hopes  of 
modern  reformers ! 

"The  world  is  grown  old,  and  her  pleasures  are  past; 
The  world  is  grown  old,  and  her  form  may  not  last ; 
The  world  is  grown  old,  and  trembles  for  fear, — 
For  sorrows  abound,  and  judgment  is  near  ! 
The  sun  in  the  heavens  is  languid  and  pale, 
And  feeble  and  few  are  the  fruits  of  the  vale, 
And  the  hearts  of  the  nations  fail  them  for  fear, — 
For  the  world  is  grown  old,  and  JUDGMENT  is  NEAR  ! 
The  king  on  his  throne,  the  bride  in  her  bower, 
The  children  of  pleasure,  all  feel  the  sad  hour; 
The  roses  are  faded,  and  tasteless  the  cheer, — 
The  world  is  grown  old,  and  JUDGMENT  IS  NEAR !" 

Only  look  abroad,  my  brethren,  and  see  how  thrones, 
powers,  governments,  superstitions,  and  all  the  old  stabilities, 
are  creaking,  shaking,  crumbling,  dying.  Behold  how  vain 
the  help  of  man  is.  Consider  how  implacable  is  human  dis- 
satisfaction. Mark  how  the  mind  of  the  world  is  expecting 
some  great,  speedy,  mysterious  change,  such  as  has  never  yet 
been.  And  is  it  not  certain  that — 

"the  old 

And  crazy  earth  has  had  her  shaking  fits 
More  frequent,  and  foregone  her  usual  rest, 
And  nature  seems  with  dim  and  sickly  eye 
To  wait  the  close  of  all"  ? 


DARKNESS   BEFORE   LIGHT.  299 

I  have  read  somewhere,  in  a  very  sagacious  writer,  that  wheu 
happy  changes  are  contemplated  most  people  erroneously  turn 
to  the  quarters  of  light  for  the  signs  of  its  approach.  This 
has  ever  been  man's  mistake  when  looking  for  the  fulfillment 
of  God's  great  purposes,  and  is  the  mistake  of  many  now. 
People  are  looking  for  the  setting  up  of  Christ's  kingdom,  and 
the  introduction  of  millennial  glory  by  reforming  and  rcbap- 
tizing  present  modes  of  effort  and  thought.  But  so  it  will  not 
be.  God's  method  of  progress  is  to  make  darkness  the  way 
to  light,  death  the  prelude  to  life,  despair  the  introduction  to 
salvation,  and  corruption  and  confusion  the  road  to  order  and 
glory.  It  is  not  in  what  seems  hopeful,  but  in  what  seems 
gloomy  and  untoward,  that  we  are  to  look  for  the  signs  of  tho 
speedy  forthcoming  of  God's  wonder-working  goodness.  It  is 
the  stirring  upon  the  face  of  the  dark  waters  that  gives  prog- 
nostic of  the  breaking  forth  of  light,  life  and  beauty.  The 
bursting  glories  of  spring  come  directly  out  of  the  bleak  winter. 
It  is  from  the  corrupting  seed  that  we  obtain  the  harvest. 
The  darkest  hour  is  said  to  be  that  which  immediately  precedes 
the  day.  The  period  most  hopeful  is  that  when  the  apparent 
motives  for  despondency  are  most  overwhelming.  The  stress 
of  the  controversy  between  hope  and  fear  always  falls  upon  the 
eve  of  triumph.  Those  dim  hours  of  dismay  to  the  scattered 
followers  of  Christ  at  his  crucifixion  were  but  the  preludes  to 
the  bringing  in  of  light  and  immortality  for  man.  The 
bloody  persecutions  under  the  Koman  emperors  which  threat- 
ened the  extinction  of  Christianity  were  the  immediate  pre- 
cursors of  its  victory  over  even  the  throne  of  the  Cajsars. 
And  so  the  Scriptures  teach  that  it  will  be  in  the  ushering  in 
of  the  great  consummation.  The  sun  must  darken  and  the 
moon  withhold  her  light,  and  then  shall  the  Sun  of  righteous- 
ness arise  with  healing  in  his  wings. 

People  think  they  see  signs  of  promise  in  the  movements  of 
reform.  They  think  to  give  the  church  a  better  shape,  and 


300  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

the  state  a  better  government,  and  the  world  a  freer  Bible,  and 
that  thus  the  millennium  will  come.  I  have  no  confidence  in 
any. such  hopes.  I  see  more  of  promise  in  the  darkest  fea- 
tures of  the  times  than  in  all  these  pious  and  patriotic  dreams. 
I  look  around  me,  and  find  men  uniting,  oft  unconsciously,  in 
pronouncing  past  experiments  inadequate  to  accomplish  what 
was  expected  of  them.  Once  it  was  thought  that  Protestant- 
ism would  soon  regenerate  the  world;  and  yet  so  little  pro- 
gress has  it  made  in  two  hundred  years  that  some  of  its  own 
distinguished  children,  in  every  department  of  it,  are  pro- 
claiming in  many  ways  that  it  will  not  do  without  mending. 
Some  thought  that  the  great  Bible,  Tract,  Sunday-school  and 
missionary  movements  would  soon  win  the  nations  to  faith  in 
Jesus;  and  yet  the  world  is  perhaps  more  wicked  now  than  it 
has  been  since  Noah's  flood.  Skeptics  in  the  church,  and 
skeptics  out  of  the  church,  are  rising  up  to  pronounce  all  our 
boasted  efforts  a  failure.  Many  are  losing  confidence  in  the 
Bible  and  that  simple  evangelism  in  which  they  hoped,  and 
are  going  back  to  Rome,  to  unbelief,  to  "spiritualism,"  or  to 
some  other  low  ism  of  natural  or  Satanic  religion.  I  deplore 
the  facts,  and  mourn  that  people  should  have  so  little  faith, 
and  reason  so  illogically.  And  yet  in  this  very  darkness  I  read 
the  promise  of  coming  light.  In  this  very  misgiving,  despera- 
tion and  gloom,  I  see  the  argument  for  the  speedy  springing 
forth  of  glorious  and  unfading  hopes,  not  as  human  reason 
calculates,  but  as  God  purposes.  I  behold  in  it  the  rapid 
winding  up  of  the  present  dispensation  to  give  place  to  that 
better  state  of  things  of  which  the  prophets  all  have  spoken. 
Statesmen  and  churchmen  see  in  it  the  unmistakable  evidences 
of  unprecedented  changes,  though  they  widely  differ  as  to 
what  those  changes  are  to  be.  I  go  to  the  "  sure  word  of  pro- 
phecy," and  there  I  find  the  mystery  explained.  That  holy 
book  which  is  the  world's  great  light  on  so  many  important 
things  does  not  fail  me  here. 


OPINIONS    OF    EMINENT    WRITERS.  301 

Sir  Robert  Peel  has  .said,  "Every  aspect  of  the  present 
times,  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  past,  warrants  the  belief  that 
we  are  on  the  eve  of  a  universal  change."  Dr.  Arnold,  in  his 
Lectures  on  History,  says,  "  Modern  history  appears  to  be  not 
only  a  step  in  advance  of  ancient  history,  but  the.  la*t  step  •  it  ap- 
pears to  bear  marks  of  the  fullness  of  time,  as  if  there  would  be 
no  future  history  beyond  it.  ...  We  have  the  full  amount  of 
earth's  resources  before  us,  and  they  seem  inadequate  to  supply 
life  for  another  period  of  human  history."  Professor  Robin- 
son says,  "Before  another  half-century  shall  have  rolled  away, 
there  will  be  seen  revolutions  in  the  Oriental  mind,  and  the 
world,  of  which  no  one  now  has  any  foreboding.  The  time  is 
short:  the  crisis  rushes  on."  The  London  Quarterly  says, 
"The  long  pent-up  winds  are  beginning  to  break  loose;  and 
the  sudden  bursts  of  tempest  that  have  swept  over  Europe 
these  few  years  past  are  precursors  of  the  world's  last  desolat- 
ing storm."  Bishop  Chase  asks,  "Are  not  these  signs  and 
prognostics  of  the  speedy  coining  of  our  Lord  to  judgment  ?" 
And  when  I  look  at  all  these  things  : — the  six  thousand  years 
nearing  their  close;  the  period  of  Popery's  dominancy  ex- 
piring; the  sixth  vial  pouring  out;  the  earth  exhibiting  all 
the  features  that  are  to  characterize  the  last  days;  the  nations 
distressed  and  their  leaders  tremulous  with  fear ;  history  closing 
up;  all  the  old  landmarks  of  society  invaded  and  simulta- 
neously giving  way  more  or  less  before  resistless  innovation ; 
the  predicted  cry,  Behold,  he  cometh,  ringing  through  every 
land;  the  whole  world  becoming  like  a  magazine,  where  a 
single  spark  may  produce  a  universal  explosion  that  must 
carry  all  existing  things  to  desolation;  our  great  men,  and 
devout  men,  and  nearly  all  thinking  men,  proclaiming  the  pre- 
sence of  some  unknown  change;  and  the  book  of  God,  which 
I  have  taken  as  my  guide,  telling  ine  that  when  these  thingg 
begin  to  come  to  pass  my  Savior  and  his  kingdom  are  at  hand : 

would  I  not  deserve  to  be  classed  with  infidels  and  scoffers 

26 


302  THE    LAST    TIMES. 

if  I  did  not  believe,  and  merit  the  condemnation  of  a  hypo- 
critical and  faithless  watchman  if  I  did  not  declare,  that  so  it 
is,  and  that  "THE  END  OP  ALL  THINGS  is  AT  HAND"  ? 

I  know  that  this  earthly-minded  and  skeptical  generation 
will  give  me  no  credit  for  what  I  have  done.  I  know  that  I 
have  exposed  myself  to  the  low  jeers  of  many  who  have  not 
the  patience  to  examine,  or  the  eyes  or  ears  to  see  and  hear, 
what  God  hath  said  and  what  Grod  is  doing.  I  shall  be  called 
a  visionary  and  an  enthusiast,  and  be  branded  with  opprobrious 
names.  Be  it  so  !  I  would  rather  bear  the  sneers  and  vulgar 
taunts  of  all  Baltimore,  and  all  the  world,  and  be  found  ready 
when  my  Savior  comes,  than  to  be  accounted  the  most  sober  of 
theologians,  and  enjoy  the  fame  of  the  most  revered  favorite 
of  popular  laudation,  and  have  the  day  of  the  Lord  find  me 
unfaithful  to  my  duty  and  unprepared  for  my  change.  What- 
ever men  may  say  or  think,  I  know  that  I  preach  what  apostles 
preached,  when  I  tell  you  that  the  end  is  near.  I  fix  upon  no 
specific  date.  I  know  not  the  day,  the  season  or  the  year 
when  the  Son  of  man  shall  come.  He  may  come  in  twenty 
years,  or  in  ten  years,  or  in  five  years,  or  before  another  year : 
I  cannot  tell.  But  this  I  believe,  and  this  I  desire  to  preach : 
that  his  coming  is  at  hand,  and  we  ought  to  be  ready  and  look- 
ing for  it  every  day. 

Nor  am  I  alone  in  these  convictions.  "The  Lord  corneth!" 
says  Krummacher.  "Never  did  the  church  witness  such  a  con- 
stellation of  signs  of  the  near  coming  of  Christ  as  now."  That 
"ripe  scholar  and  profound  student  of  prophecy,"  Dr.  Elliott, 
says,  "  We  are  come  so  near  to  the  day  of  the  Son  of  man,  that 
the  generation  now  living  shall  very  possibly  not  have  passed 
away  before  its  fulfillment;  yea,  that  perhaps  our  own  eyes  may 
witness,  without  the  intervention  of  death,  that  astonishing 
event  of  the  consummation.'1'  Pym  says,  "Upon  us  the  ends 
of  the  world  are  come ;  and  this  generation  shall  witness  the 
advent  of  the  Lord  in  glory  to  introduce  the  millenary  reign 


FURTHER.    CONFIRMATORY    <>MM<>\s.  303 

of  righteousness  and  peace."  Cunninghamc  says,  "All  the 
events  of  our  own  times, — the  growing  disorders  of  the  body 
politic, — the  fears  and  expectations  of  men, — the  deep  per- 
suasion of  an  impending  convulsion  inrooted  in  every  thinking 
mind, — the  solemn  and  awakening  declarations  of  Scripture, — 
the  clear  and  unequivocal  voice  of  prophecy, — every  sign, 
every  promise,  every  testimony, — unite  in  announcing  his 
(Christ's)  approach."  Habershon  says,  "The  time  undoubt- 
edly is  near  at  hand  when  the  redemption  of  the  body  shall 
be  experienced,  and  when  these  bodies  of  our  humiliation  shall 
be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body."  "It  is  reasonable 
to  conclude,"  says  Faber,  "that  the  time  is  not  very  far  dis- 
tant when  the  personal  Word  shall  begin  to  tread  the  wine- 
press of  the  fierceness  and  wrath  of  Almighty  God."  Cuui- 
ining  says,  "  We  are  led  from  all  signs  to  infer  that  the  meet- 
ing-place of  all  the  lines  of  God's  providential  work  on  earth 
is  very  near.  ...  It  is  very  remarkable  that  all  the  great  times 
and  dates  of  prophecy  meet  and  mingle  about  the  year  1864. 
...  I  do  feel,  that  if  1864  be  not  the  close  of  the  age  that  now 
is,  and  the  commencement  of  a  better  one,  it  will  be  a  time  un- 
precedented since  the  beginning."  Brooks  says,  "The  signs 
of  the  second  advent  in  the  state  of  the  world  at  large  are 
such  as  to  impress  my  own  mind  with  a  deep  persuasion  that 
we  are  on  the  eve  of  events  of  immense — immense  importance 
to  mankind."  "From  whatever  dates  we  reckon,"  says  Bick- 
crsteth,  "we  cannot  but  consider  that  the  time  of  the  end  is 
drawing  near,  and  that  awful  events  of  judgment  and  mercy 
are  before  us."  "The  happy  hour  is  not  far  hence,"  says 
Taylor.  "  It  is  near,  and  hasteth  greatly.  .  .  .  This  generation 
and  century  will  witness  his  glorious  epiphany!"  "Almost 
all  writers  on  prophecy,"  says  Cox,  "who  have  studied  its 
mystic  numbers,  make  them  terminate  at  periods  towards 
which  we  are  rapidly  approaching.  However  different  tlu  so 
views  and  schemes,  they  agree  in  this,  that  within  a  few 


80-4  TUB   LAST   TIMES. 

years  from  the  present  time  some  of  the  greatest  events  ever 
witnessed  will  take  place."  I  might  give  many  more  such 
statements. 

Brethren,  these  are  not  the  ravings  of  fanatics,  nor  tho 
loose  vociferations  of  ignorant  people.  They  are  the  delibe- 
rately-formed conclusions  of  our  most  competent,  most  pious 
and  most  profound  investigators  of  God's  holy  revelations. 
Men  of  the  highest  order  of  mind,  scholars  of  the  profoundest 
erudition,  Christians  of  the  most  enlightened  piety,  after' 
years  and  years  of  patient,  laborious,  prayerful  and  independent 
study,  and  in  the  face  of  a  speedily-appearing  Judge,  have 
thus  solemnly  proclaimed  to  the  world  that  we  are  now  stand- 
ing upon  the  very  eve  of  the  Savior's  coming.  And  how 
dare  we  rise  up  and  say  that  their  testimony  is  false  ? 

"  Very  true,"  some  will  say  j  "  it  is  all  well  put  in  ;  but  it  is 
such  an  awful  thing  to  think  of!  It  will  trouble  people's  minds, 
it  will  disturb  their  peace,  it  will  produce  melancholy  and 
dejection,  it  will  make  nervous  persons  gloomy,  injure  their 
health  and  awaken  unnecessary  anxiety  and  alarm;  and  there- 
fore it  should  not  be  preached."  My  friends  have  not  failed 
to  give  me  the  benefit  of  such  suggestions.  People  are 
thrown  into  trepidation  when  we  advert  to  the  subject,  and 
beseech  us  to  desist,  although  it  is  the  master-theme  of  the 
gospel  and  the  final  chorus  in  which  all  the  harmony  of  the 
Scriptures  concentrates  and  combines.  They  would  rather 
not  hear  of  it ;  they  would  be  glad  to  believe  that  we  have 
less  ground  for  our  declarations.  They  regard  it  as  only  ter- 
rific, whereas  the  Scriptures  commingle  with  it  the  fulfillment 
of  all  man's  sublimest  joy.  Jesus  says,  "  When  these  things 
begin  to  come  to  pass,  then  LOOK  UP  AND  LIFT  up  YOUR 

HEADS  :     FOR   YOUR  REDEMPTION   DRAWETH    NIGH."        Hear 

and  consider,  0  ye  of  little  faith.  "Are  you  so  enamored  of 
sickness  that  you  have  no  longing  for  the  resurrection-body 
and  the  beauteous  robes  of  incorruptiou  and  immortality  ? 


DESIRABLENESS    OF    T1IK    KM).  .']U5 

Are  you  so  enamored  of  aches,  aud  ills,  and  losses,  and  be- 
reavements, and  pains,  and  battles,  and  famine,  and  plague, 
and  pestilence,  that  you  do  not  wish  them  to  be  done  with  ? 
Why,  every  statement  in  this  blessed  book  leads  us  to  the 
otherwise-delightful  conclusion  that  the  nearer  the  great  issue 
comes  the  happier  God's  people  should  feel.  The  sound  that 
rings  sweet  and  audible  from  the  skies  amidst  the  crash  uf 
nations,  the  overturning  of  thrones,  the  dissolution  of  dynas- 
ties, and  wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  is,  Lift  up  i/uur  /<< 
your  redemption  is  near  !  And  if  I  should  be  able  only  to 
point  out  a  few  weeds  floating  upon  the  sea  that  hulk-ate 
we  arc  approaching  the  great  continent  of  glory, — if  I  should 
be  able  only  to  give  an  Alpine  flower  here  and  there,  however 
fragile,  yet  a  sweet  messenger  of  the  coming  spring, — every  true 
Christian  ought  to  rejoice  and  be  glad  that  there  are  tokens 
of  a  day  when  a  genesis  shall  pass  upon  the  earth  better  and 
brighter  than  the  first,  and  a  paradise  come  in  as  the  coronal 
of  time  more  glorious  than  that  which  was  its  dawn."  So 
discourses  one  who,  from  Covent  Garden,  is  warming  more 
hearts  with  these  momentous  themes  than  any  other  living 
man.  And  many  have  expressed  themselves  to  the  same 
effect. 

Luther  once  held  in  his  hand  a  necklace  of  agates,  and  said, 
"I  would  readily  eat  up  this  to-day  for  the  judgment  to  come 
to-morrow."  "  Blessed  consummation  of  this  weary  and  sor- 
rowful world!"  says  the  eloquent  Irving;  "I  give  it  wel- 
come,—  I  hail  its  approach, —  I  wait  its  coming  more  than 
they  that  watch  for  the  morning.  Over  the  wrecks  of  a  world 
I  wecp, — over  broken  hearts  of  parents, — over  suffering  in- 
fancy,— over  the  unconscious  clay  of  sweet  innocents, — over 
the  untimely  births  that  have  never  seen  the  light,  or  have 
just  looked  upon  it  and  shut  their  eyes  until  the  glorious  light 
of  the  resurrection-morn.  0  my  Lord,  come  away!  Hasten 
with  all  thy  congregated  ones !  My  soul  desireth  to  see  the 
U  26* 


306  THE   LAST   TIMES. 

King  in  his  beauty,  and  the  beautiful  ones  whom  he  shall 
bring  along  with  him."  "  Come  forth  out  of  thy  royal  cham- 
bers, 0  Prince  of  all  the  kings  of  earth!"  says  England's 
greatest  poet.  "  Put  on  the  visible  robes  of  thy  imperial 
majesty.  Take  up  that  unlimited  sceptre  which  thy  Almighty 
Father  hath  bequeathed  thee.  For  now  the  voice  of  thy 
Bride  calls  thee,  and  all  creatures  sigh  to  be  renewed." 
"How  cheering  the  hope/'  says  Cox, — "how  cheering  the 
hope,  amidst  the  din  of  war,  the  shouts  of  false  joy,  the 
yell  of  idolatry  and  the  groans  of  creation,  that  a  period 
is  hastening  when  peace  shall  stretch  its  shady  wings  over 
the  sons  of  men,  when  rivers  of  joy  shall  water  this  vale 
of  tears, 'when  cherubim  to  cherubim  shall  cry,  HOLY,  HOLY, 

HOLY   IS   THE   LORD  GOD  OF  HOSTS  }    THE   WHOLE   EARTH   IS 

FULL  OF  HIS  GLORY  !"  "  Oh  that  Christ  would  remove  the 
covering,  draw  aside  the  curtains  of  time  and  rend  the  heavens 
and  come  down  !"  says  Rutherford.  "  Oh  that  shadows  and 
night  were  gone,  that  the  day  would  break,  and  that  He  who 
feedeth  among  the  lilies  would  cry  to  his  heavenly  trumpeters, 
Make  ready,  let  us  go  down  and  fold  together  the  four  corners 
of  the  earth  I"  "  Hasten,  0  my  Savior,  the  time  of  thy 
return,"  says  Baxter.  "  Send  forth  thine  angels,  and  let 
that  dreadful  joyful  trumpet  sound.  Delay  not,  lest  the  living 
give  up  their  hopes;  delay  not,  lest  earth  should  grow  like 
hell  and  thy  church  be  crumbled  to  dust.  .  .  .  Oh,  hasten  that 
great  resurrection-day,  when  the  seed  that  thou  sowest  cor- 
ruptible shall  come  forth  incorruptible,  and  graves  that  re- 
ceived but  rottenness  and  retain  but  dust  shall  return  thee  glo- 
rious stars  and  suns.  Thy  desolate  Bride  saith,  Come.  The 
whole  creation  saith,  Come,  even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus!" 
And  why  should  not  every  believing  heart  look  up  and  re- 
spond with  rapture,  "AMEN,  AND  AMEN"  ?  View  the  untold 
glories  which  Christ  shall  bring  with  him  for  every  waiting 
soul.  Consider  the  sublimities  of  happiness  which  that  great 


NEARNESS   OF   THE   ADVENT   A   SUBJECT   OF   JOY.     307 

consummation  shall  spread  forever  upon  this  smitten  world. 
And  why  should  we  start  back  from  the  conviction  that  it  is 
near? 

"  Thrice  blessed  hope, 
If  home  like  this  await  the  weary  soul ! 
Look  up,  thou  stricken  one !     Thy  wounded  heart 
Shall  bleed  no  more  at  sorrow's  stern  control." 

When  the  blessed  Savior  was  about  to  leave  this  world,  he 
said,  "  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And,  if  I  go  and 
prepare  a  place  for  you,  /  will  come  again  and  receive  you 
unto  myself;  that  where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also."  And 
hardly  had  he  reached  the  threshold  of  his  Father's  sublime 
and  holy  habitation  until  he  shouted  back,  "  SURELY  I  COME 
QUICKLY."  Nor  does  the  church  enter  into  the  rapture  of 
her  hopes  until  she  brings  herself  to  respond  with  John, 
"AMEN  ;  EVEN  so,  COME,  LORD  JESUS  !"  Therein  lies  our 
highest  joy.  All  that  is  dear  and  precious  is  linked  with  that 
glorious  coming.  And  when  He  who  is  our  life  shall  appear, 
then  shall  we  also  appear  with  him  in  glory.  Then  all  wrongs 
shall  be  righted,  the  long-severed  united  and  long-deferred 
hope  be  fulfilled.  Every  thing  now  is  disjointed,  depressed, 
sickly  and  sad.  We  are  surrounded  with  funerals,  graves, 
diseases,  crimes  and  tears.  There  is  no  home  so  happy,  and 
no  heart  so  joyous,  but  it  has  in  it  the  deep  undertones  of 
sorrow  and  trouble. 

"  There  is  no  flock,  however  watched  and  tended, 

But  one  dead  lamb  is  there ; 
There  is  no  fireside,  bowsoe'cr  defended, 

But  hath  one  vacant  chair. 
The  air  is  full  of  farewells  of  the  dying, 

And  mournings  for  the  dead ; 
The  heart  of  Rachel  for  her  children  crying 

Will  not  be  comforted." 

But  when  the  expected  Savior  comes,  these  woes  and  griefa 
shall  have  an  end.  Then  shall  the  buried  babe  and  slumbering 


308  THE    LAST   TIMES. 

boy  of  promise  awake  from  the  cold  dark  sleep  of  years,  no 
more  to  writhe  under  fierce  disease,  or  to  be  torn  from  pa- 
rental love.  Then  shall  those  loved  forms  on  which  the  clods 
are  pressing,  and  over  whose  damp  resting-places  many  a  win- 
ter's snow  has  lain  and  many  a  summer's  flower  bloomed,  come 
forth  to  light  and  life  never  again  to  fall  under  the  power  of 
corruption.  Then  shall  the  broken  and  scattered  household 
be  regathered  to  separate  no  more.  Then  shall  be  the  coro- 
nation-day for  them  that  have  labored  and  suffered  for  Jesus. 
Then  shall  the  martyr  receive  his  crown  and  the  saint  his 
ineffable  portion.  Then  shall  tears  cease  to  flow  and  saduess 
to  depress.  Then  shall  the  exile  reach  his  happy  home  and 
the  toiling  pilgrim  find  his  everlasting  rest.  Then  shall  the 
worshipper  look  upon  the  face  of  his  God  and  the  faithful 
servant  receive  the  transporting  commendation  and  welcome 
of  his  Lord.  Then  shall  earth's  long-predicted  sabbath  come 
and  the  eternal  jubilee  of  the  redeemed  begin.  Then  shall 
the  mystery  of  divine  compassion  be  consummated,  and  this 
prodigal  orb  of  ours,  restored  once  more  to  her  Father's 
smiles,  take  her  place  in  the  sisterhood  of  unfallen  worlds, 
reflecting  in  richer  lustre  and  celebrating  in  grander  songs 
the  praises  of  Him  who  made  it  and  the  mercies  of  Him  that 
redeemed  it  with  his  blood. 

No,  no,  no ;  the  doctrine  of  the  Savior's  speedy  coming  is 
not  a  thing  of  gloom  and  sadness.  It  is  gospel, — pure  gospel, 
— nothing  but  GOOD  NEWS.  If  it  has  any  thing  distressing 
in  it,  you  yourself  must  put  it  there  by  your  hard-heartedness, 
your  prayerlessness  and  unforsaken  sin.  If  you  have  fixed 
your  heart  and  faith  on  Jesus  as  your  prophet,  priest  and 
king,  you  have  naught  to  fear  and  every  thing  to  hope. 
They  that  put  their  trust  in  him  shall  never  be  put  to  con- 
fusion. As  the  mountains  are  round  about  Jerusalem,  so  the 
Lord  encampeth  round  about  them  that  fear  him.  Hath  he 
not  said,  "  He  that  confesseth  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also 


CONCLUDING   EXHORTATION.  309 

confess  before  my  Father,  and  before  his  holy  angels"?  Is 
not  the  immutable  covenant  made  and  sealed,  pledging  all 
the  sublime  attributes  of  God  for  the  believer's  safety  ?  If 
he  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  freely  for  us 
all,  will  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?  The 
only  question  is,  Have  you  submitted  to  Christ  f  Have  you 
given  up  to  do  all  your  duty  as  he  enjoins  it  ?  Have  yuu 
accepted  of  him  as  your  Savior  and  your  hope  ?  Have  you 
identified  yourself  with  him  in  the  fellowship  of  his  church? 
Is  he  your  alpha  and  your  omega  ? — your  all  in  all  ?  Then  fear 
not.  Only  be  faithful  a  little  longer,  and  the  day  will  come 
which  will  be  to  you  a  gladder  day  than  ever  you  thought  it 
possible  for  you  to  see.  And  as  you  behold  the  fig-leaves  put- 
ting forth  as  the  heralds  of  its  approach,  "look  up  and  lift  up 
your  head ;  for  your  redemption  draweth  nigh." 

But  God  forbid  that  I  should  cry  peace  where  there  is  no 
peace,  or  encourage  hope  where  there  is  no  hope.  If  any  of 
you  are  yet  prayerless,  without  submission  to  Christ,  loving 
self  or  the  world  more  than  God,  and  standing  aloof  from  the 
gospel-way  of  life,  you  may  well  be  alarmed  and  tremble  at 
what  is  before  you.  The  day  of  the  Savior's  revelation  will 
be  a  day  of  fearful  vengeance  upon  them  that  know  not  God 
and  obey  not  the  gospel  of  his  Son.  And  better,  a  thousand 
times  better,  that  you  should  now  be  filled  with  all  Belshazzar's 
terror,  if  it  will  lead  you  to  repentance,  than  to  go  on  in  carnal 
comfort  and  meet  your  coming  Judge  with  hearts  unrecon- 
ciled and  sins  unforgiven.  And  yet  you  need  not  tremble 
with  utter  despair.  You  are  not  where  the  rich  man  called 
for  help  but  found  it  not.  The  door  of  salvation  still  is  open. 
The  proclamation  of  forgiving  mercy  still  rings  in  your  ears. 
Wicked  and  negligent  as  you  have  been,  you  may  yet  come 
and  share  in  the  sublimest  joys  Christianity  has  to  give. 
Your  injured  and  weeping  Redeemer  still  stretches  out  to  you 
his  hands  and  bids  you  Come.  The  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say 


310  THE    LAST    TIMES. 

Come.  And  whosoever  will,  let  him  come.  Oh,  how  great  is 
the  mercy  which  some  of  you  have  abused,  and  the  compas- 
sion and  privileges  which  you  have  set  at  naught !  Never- 
theless, here  I  am  to-day,  with  authority  from  God  in  heaven 
to  offer  to  you  a  free  forgiveness  and  eternal  life,  if  you  will 
but  accept  the  gift  upon  the  plain  and  easy  terms  therewith 
annexed: — "Turn  yourselves  and  live."  Will  you  do  it? 
You,  prayerless,  careless  father,  mother,  child,  reviler,  prodi- 
gal, blasphemer,  scoffer,  neglecter  of  God,  will  you  do  it? 
Your  time  is  growing  short.  Your  day  of  grace  will  soon  be 
over.  Your  summer-time  of  hope  will  soon  have  passed  away. 
Will  you  now  start  to  be  a  child  of  God  and  heir  of  heaven  ? 
There  is  room  enough ;  will  you  come  and  occupy  it  ?  The 
robes,  and  palms,  and  harps  and  crowns  of  righteousness  and 
life  are  soon  to  be  distributed ;  will  you  come  and  put  in  your 
application  ?  Oh,  let  those  stiff  necks  bend,  those  hard  hearts 
relent,  those  stubborn  wills  surrender;  and  send  up  your 
prayers  to  the  mercy-seat  now  ere  it  is  changed  to  an  inex- 
orable judgment-throne.  Gracious  God !  pity  poor  sinners, 
and  spare  them  yet  a  little,  and  plead  mightily  with  them  that 
they  may  repent  and  live  !  Oh,  suffer  them  not  to  perish  for- 
ever ;  but  so  move  them  by  thy  good  Spirit  that  they  may 
seek  thy  face  and  come  with  all  thy  saints  into  the  joys  of 
that  nearing  world  for  which  we  long  and  wait.  And  then 
and  there  we  will  ever  sing,  "  UNTO  HIM  THAT  LOVED  us, 
AND  WASHED  US  FROM  OUR  SINS  IN  HIS  OWN  BLOOD, 
AND  HATH  MADE  US  KINGS  AND  PRIESTS  UNTO  GOD,  TO 
HIM  BE  GLORY  AND  DOMINION  FOREVER  AND  EVER. 
AMEN." 


APPENDIX. 


0n  %  Subjects  0f  ijjis 

IT  may  be  interesting  to  the  reader,  and  serve  as  a  guide 
if  he  should  desire  to  prosecute  the  subject  further,  to  have  a 
list  of  the  books  which,  in  some^  essential  parts,  or  entirely, 
accord  with  the  conclusions  announced  in  this  volume.  We 
therefore  append  such  a  list,  for  the  double  purpose  of  facili- 
tating the  student's  access  to  rnillenarian  authors,  and  of 
indicating  to  sonic  extent  the  authorities  to  whom  reference 
may  be  made  to  sustain  the  leading  doctrines  of  these  dis- 
courses. The  catalogue  is  not  as  complete  as  the  writer 
desires  it  to  be.  With  all  the  pains  that  he  has  taken  with  it, 
it  doubtless  has  defects.  However,  it  contains  his  best  infor- 
mation on  the  subject,  and  may  prove  useful.  Of  course  he 
does  not  agree  with  all  that  these  various  writers  have  said; 
but  authority  may  be  found  in  all  of  them  for  some  promi- 
nent feature  of  his  views. 

I.  PATRISTIC   BOOKS. 

IREN^EUS,  Bishop  of  Lyons,  in  France,  who  died  a  martyr, 
A.D.  203.  The  fifth  book  of  his  elaborate  work  "Against 
Heresies"  contains  his  distinct  testimony  on  this  subject. 

JUSTIN  THE  MARTYR,  one  of  the  earliest  writers  of  the  Chris- 
tian church,  beheaded  A.D.  167.  "Dialogue  with  Try- 
pho."  Translated  by  Brown,  1755. 

LACTANTIUS,  L.  C.  F.,  "  the  most  eloquent  of  all  the  ccclesi- 

311 


312  APPENDIX. 

astical  Latin  authors,  generally  distinguished  by  the  title 
of  '  The  Christian  Cicero.'  ''  "Divine  Institutes  con- 
cerning the  Future  Blessed  Life"  book  vii.  Parid, 
1548. 

OTHER  FATHERS  have  given  their  testimony,  but  their 
remarks  lie  scattered  promiscuously  through  their  works 
and  commentaries.  They  are  largely  quoted  by  Homes 
On  (lie  Millennium,  Burnet  in  his  Theory  of  the  Earth, 
Greswell  On  the  Parables,  and  many  more,  whose  works 
are  referred  to  below. 

II.  JEWISH  BOOKS. 

BEN  EZRA,  J.  J.,  a  distinguished  Spanish  Jew,  a  convert  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  "  The  Coming  of  the 
Messiah  in  Glory  and  Majesty."  2  vols.  Svo,  1827. 
Translated  by  Edward  Irving.  This  work  was  written  a 
little  more  than  one  hundred  years  ago.  It  throws 
much  light  on  the  subject  of  unfulfilled  prophecy. 

KIMCHI,  DAVID,  a  Spanish  Jew  of  great  erudition,  who  lived 
in  the  thirteenth  century.  "Commentary  on  the  Old 
Testament" 

ABARBANEL,  JARCHI,  ETC.  See  Schbetgen  and  Stehelen's 
Rabbinical  Literature,  2  vols.  Svo,  1748;  also,  Stuart 
on  the  Apocalypse,  chapter  xx. 

III.  PROMISCUOUS   BOOKS. 

FINCH,  SERJT.,  a  distinguished  Englishman.  "The  calling  of 
the  Jews — The  World's  great  Restoration."  4to,  1621. 

MEDE,  JOSEPH,  born  1586,  died  1638;  he  was  "one  of  the 
profoundest  Biblical  scholars  of  the  English  church,  of 


APPENDIX.  313 

whom  it  was  said  that  in  the  explication  of  the  mys- 
terious passages  of  Scripture  he  discerned  the  day 
before  others  had  opened  their  eyes."  "Clavis  Apoca- 
lyptica,"  and  other  works,  pronounced  by  Bickersteth  to 
be  "  invaluable  expositions  of  various  prophecies,  de- 
serving and  repaying  the  closest  study." 

ALABASTER,  WILLIAM,  Canon  of  St.  Paul's,  died  1640. 
"Ecce  Sponsus  Venit."  4to,  1633. 

ARCHER,  JOHN.  "The  Personal  Reign  of  Christ  on  Earth." 
1634. 

MATON,  ROBERT,  minister  and  Commoner  at  Oxford,  1642. 
"Christ's  Personal  Reign  on  Earth."  "Israel's  Re- 
demption Redeemed."  4to,  1646. 

DURANT,  JOHN, — "  sweet  old  Durant,"  Brown  designates  him. 
"Christ's  Appearance  the  Second  Time  for  the  Salvation 
of  Believers."  12mo,  1653. 

FARMER,  JOSEPH.  A  small  volume  entitled  "A  Sober  Enquiry  ; 
or,  Christ's  Reign  with  his  Saints,  modestly  asserted  from 
the  Scriptures."  1660.  The  Edinburgh  Review  says, 
"  The  spirit  of  this  little  piece  of  antiquity  is  admirable, 
calm,  candid  and  Christian." 

TILLINGHAST,  JOHN.  "Generation  Work;"  12mo,  1655. 
"Knowledge  of  tlie  Times;"  12mo,  1654.  "Eight 
Last  Sermons;"  12mo,  1654.  "A  superior  writer, 
both  in  practical  and  evangelical  sentiment,  and  in 
prophetical  knowledge.  Though  he  prematurely  applied 
predictions,  his  works  contain  much  that  is  useful," 

says  Bickersteth. 

21 


ol  I  APPENDIX. 

HOLMES,  NATII.    "  The  Resurrection  Revealed."     Fol.  1654. 

COMENIUS,  BISHOP  JOHN  AMOS,  "  eminent  as  a  divine  and 
grammarian/'  born  in  Moravia,  1592,  died  at  Amster- 
dam, 1671.  "Lux  in  Tenebris."  1657. 

POIRET,  PETER.  "Divine  Economy."  7  vols.  8vo.  Trans- 
lated into  English. 

JERIEU,  PETER,  a  French  Calvinist,  by  some  called  "the 
Goliath  of  Protestantism,"  born  1637,  died  1713. 
"L'Accomplissement  des  Propheties."  1686.  Also  trans- 
lated into  English.  3  vols.  8vo. 

PETERSON,  WM.  "  Wahrheit  des  herrlichen  Reiches  Jesu 
Christi."  1693. 

WHISTON,  WM.,  a  learned  English  divine,  successor  to  Sir 
Isaac  Newton  as  Lucasian  Professor  of  Mathematics  at 
Cambridge.  "Literal  Accomplishment  of  Scriptural 
Prophecies."  8vo,  1724. 

SPES  FIDELIUM;  or,  "TJie  Believer's  Hope;"  by  a  Presbyter 
of  the  Church  of  England,  supposed  to  be  Dr.  Grabe,  or 
Dr.  Lee.  8vo,  1714. 

BURNET,  THOMAS.  "Theory  of  the  Earth."  2  vols.  8vo, 
1728. 

LANGE,  JOACHIM.  "ApoJcalyptisches  Licht  und  Recht." 
Fol.  1730. 

BENGEL,  JOHN  ALBERT,  a  celebrated  Lutheran  divine,  born 
1687.  Clarke  says,  "In  him  were  united  two  rare 
qualifications, — the  deepest  piety  and  the  most  extensive 
learning."  "Ordo  Tempo r urn  ;"  1741.  "Exposition  of 


APPENDIX.  315 

the  Ajiocalypsc  ;"  1740,  (German.)  ''Discourses  for  the 
Common  People"  (Reden  fiir's  Yolk ;)  1748.  Many 
fancies  with  many  truths. 

CRESSENER,  DR.  "Protestant  Applications  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse." "Written  in  1690,  and  dedicated  to  Queen  Mary. 

GOODWIN,  THOMAS,  a  celebrated  Dissenter,  a  member  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines,  and  one  of  the  two 
men  whom  Wood  called  "  the  two  Atlases  and  patriarchs 
of  Independency."  "Exposition  of  the  Apocalypse." 
1679. 

GILL,  DR.  JOHN,  "eminent  as  a  divine,  theologian,  and 
orientalist,"  born  in  England,  1697.  "Sermons  on 
Prophecy."  Svo,  1750-55.  "Body  of  Divinity."  Also, 
Commentaries  on  portions  of  the  Bible. 

LAVATER,  JOHN  G.  C.,  a  celebrated  writer,  born  at  Zurich, 
1741.  "AussicJtten  in  die  Ewiylceit."  Six  letters. 

DAUBUZ,  CHARLES,  "a  scholar  of  the  first  rank,  born  in 
France  in  the  seventeenth  century."  "Commentary  on 
the  Apocalypse"  1720.  Translated  by  P.  Lancaster  in 
1730. 

STILLING,  JOHN  HENRY,  "Der  treuherziger,"  as  Semisch 
calls  him.  " Seigsgeschichtc  dcr  Christlichc  Religion." 
1799.  "Xachtrag."  1806. 

FABER,  GEORGE  STANLEY."  "Dissertation  on  the  Prophecies." 
New  York,  1811,  Svo,  2  vols.  in  one.     Also,  other  works. 

DRUMMOND,  H.  "Defence  of  the  Students  of  Prophecy  in 
Answer  to  Dr.  Hamilton."  Svo,  1828. 


316  APPENDIX. 

IRVING,  EDWARD.  "The  Last  Days."  8vo,  1828.  Many 
useful  thoughts. 

LAMBERT,  C.  P.  "Exposition  des  Predictions  et  des  Pro- 
messes  faitcs  a  V  Eglise,  pour  les  dernier s  temps  de  la 
Gentilite."  2  vols.  12mo,  1806.  "A  striking  testi- 
mony to  the  premillennial  advent,  restoration  of  the 
Jews  and  reign  of  Christ,  by  a  French  Roman  Catholic," 
says  Bickersteth. 

PIRIE,  DR.  ALEXANDER.  "Miscellaneous  and  Posthumous 
Works."  6  vols.  12mo,  1805. 

ANDERSON,  WILLIAM.  "Apology  for  Millenarian  Doctrine." 
Two  parts,  1830-1,  1842.  "A  Letter  to  the  Author  of 
'Millenarianism  Indefensible."'  12mo;  1834.  "An 
ahle  writer,"  says  Bickersteth. 

STERRY,  PETER.  "  The  Rise,  Race  and  Royalty  of  the  King- 
dom of  God,  and  the  Appearances  of  God  to  Man." 
2  vols.  4to,  1683-1710. 

PERRY,  JOSEPH.    "  Glory  of  Christ's  Visible  Kingdom."  1721. 

RUDD,  SAYER,  M.D.  "Essay  on  the  Resurrection,  Millennium 
and  Judgment."  London,  1734,  8vo. 

BlENCHO,  J.  "Restoration  of  the  Jews  the  Crisis  of  all 
Nations."  8vo,  1800.  "Signs  of  the  Times."  8vo. 
1808-17. 

SCOTT,  THOMAS.  "Restoration  of  Israel "  in  answer  to  Rabbi 
Crool.  8vo,  1814. 


APPENDIX.  317 


HUSSEY,  JOSEPH.  "Glories  of  Christ."  "An  author  of  some 
distinction,"  says  Taylor.  "The  most  decided  millcnarian 
I  ever  met,"  says  Cox.  He  lived  a  century  ago. 

GLAS,  JOHN.     See  his  works,  in  4  vols.,  Edinburgh,  1761. 


THORPE,  WILLIAM.  "Destinies  of  the  British  Empire."  8vo, 
1831. 

CUNNINGHAME,  "WM.,  Esq.  "Political  Destiny  of  the  Earth," 
"Fullness  of  Times"  "Tlie  Conversion  and  Restoration 
of  the  Jews"  &c.  &c.  A  very  able  and  voluminous 
writer  on  the  prophecies. 

PETERSON,  DR.  J.  TV.  "Scriptural  Exposition  and  Demon- 
stration of  the  Millenarian  Reign."  1677. 

COCCEIUS,  JOHN,  professor  of  theology  at  Bremen.  "Com- 
mentarii  in  Sacra  Scripturas."  Fol.  12  vols.  1706. 
"De  Ecclesia  et  Babylone."  "De  Antichristo"  &c.  "A 
man  continually  quoted  and  applauded  by  Vitringa  for 
his  piety,  learning  and  ability  as  an  expositor  of  pro- 
phecy," says  Brooks.  Home  says  of  his  Commentaries, 
"  They  abound  with  valuable  illustrations,  and  will  amply 
repay  the  trouble  of  perusal."  Apthorp  says  he  is 
"often  fanciful,  but  learned,  pious,  and  far  more  dis- 
cerning in  the  true  scope  of  prophecy  than  many  who 
succeeded  him." 


TYSO,  JOSEPH.    "An  Inquiry  after  Prophetic  Truth  relative  to 
the  Restoration  of  the  Jews  and  the  Millennium."     8vo, 

1831. 

27* 


318  APPENDIX. 

FRY,  JOHN.  "The  Second  Advent;  or,  Glorious  Epiphany  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  2  vols.  8vo,  1822.  "Full 
of  useful  thoughts." — Bickerstcth. 

FRERE,  J.  H.  "Combined  View  of  the  Prophecies."  8vo, 
1815.  "Structure  of  the  Apocalypse"  1826. 

HALLET,  JOSEPH.  "Notes  on  Peculiar  Texts  of  Scripture." 
3  vols.  8vo,  1729-36. 

HARTLEY,  REV.  T.  "Paradise  Restored;  or,  a  Testimony  to 
the  Doctrine  of  the  Blessed  Millennium."  1764. 

ALLIX,  PETER.  "Confutation  of  the  Hope  of  tJie  Jews  con- 
cerning the  last  Redemption."  8vo,  1707. 

ALTINGH,  J.     "Spes  Israelis"     4to,  1676. 

KOPPIUS,  J.  B.  "Excursus  in  Eptst.  Pauli  ad  Thessalon" 
8vo,  1791. 

PENN,  GRANVILLE.  "Cliristian  Survey  of  Prophecy."    1824. 

GALE,  THOMAS.  "Discourse  concerning  Christ's  Second 
Coming."  8vo,  1673. 

CLINTON,  FYNES.  "Fasti  Hellenici."  "  One  of  the  ablest 
chronologers  of  the  present  times,"  says  Bickersteth. 

HABERSHON,  MATTHEW,  Esq.  "Dissertation  on  tfc  Prophetic 
Scriptures."  8vo,  1834.  "Guide  to  Chronological 
Prophecy."  1835. 


APPENDIX.  319 

McNElL,  REV.  HUGH.  "Sermons  on  the  Second  Admit." 
Philadelphia,  1841.  "Lectures  on  the  Jews."  1830. 
"Eloquent  and  pious;  one  of  England's  most  gifted 
divines/'  says  Winthrop. 

SlRR,  REV.  JOSEPH  D'AacY.  "The  First  Resurrection  con- 
sidered in  a  Series  of  Letters  ;  occasioned  by  a  treatise 
of  the  late  Rev.  H.  Gipps."  Philadelphia,  1841.  A 
strong  argument,  with  many  useful  observations,  and 
written  in  a  good  spirit. 

Cox,  REV.  JOHN.  "Millcnarians  Answer  of  his  Hope." 
1832.  "Thoughts  on  the  Coming  and  Kingdom  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  1836.  A  warm-hearted  and 
sensible  writer  of  the  Baptist  denomination. 

NOEL,  G-.  T.     "The  Prospects  of  the  Christian  Church." 

BROOKS,  REV.  J.  TV.  "Elements  of  Prophetical  Interpre- 
tation;" also,  "Essays  on  the  Advent."  A  calm,  im- 
pressive and  instructive  writer. 

PYM,  WM.,  "Thoughts  on  Jfillenarianism."  Third  edition, 
1831.  "Doctrine  of  the  JYeic  Testament  on  the  Second 

Advent." 

BIRKS,  REV.  T.  R.  "  The  Four  Prophetic  Empires,"  "The 
Millenium"  "The  First  Resurrection,"  &c. 

BlCKERSTETH,  REV.  EmVARD.  "A  Practical  Guide  to  the  Pro- 
phecies, with  reference  to  their  Interpretation  and  Ful- 
fillment, and  to  Personal  Edification/'  A  learned  man, 
of  a  most  amiable,  candid  and  devout  spirit. 


320  APPENDIX. 

BEGG,  JAMES  A.  "Letters  on  the  Coming  of  Christ."  12mo, 
1831. 

HOOPER,  JOHN.    "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Second  Advent." 
ROGERS,  WM.     "Jems,  come  quickly,'  &c. 
HOFFMAN.     "  Weissagung  und  Erfullung." 
DELITZSCII.     "Die  Billiscli  Profihctische  Tlicologie" 
"  SECIIS  PERIODEN  DEE  CHRISTLICHE  KIRCHE."     1851. 

CROLY,  DR.  G-.  "Treatise  on  the  Advent;"  also,  on  the  Apoca- 
lypse. 

VAN  MILDERT,  BISHOP.     "Boyle  Lectures."     1830. 

BONAR,  HORATIUS.  "Apostolicity  of  Chiliasm."  "Prophetic 
Landmarks." 

BoNAR,  ANDREW.     "Redemption  draweth  nigh." 

ELLIOTT,  DR.  E.  B.  "Horce  Apocalypticcc."  4  vols.  A 
very  learned  and  useful  exposition.  Cuniming  charac- 
terizes it  as  a  "  noble  and  precious  work." 

LORD,  DAVID  N.,  Esq.  "An  Exposition  of  the  Apocalypse." 
1847.  A  work  of  much  learning,  and  particularly  valu- 
able for  its  development  of  the  laws  of  synibolization. 

TAIT,  REV.  WM.  "Exposition  of  the  Hebrews."  2  vols.  8vo, 
1845. 


APPENDIX.  :}'2l 

"  THE  LITERALIST,"  embracing  sermons  from  Yilliers,  Auriol, 
Goodhart,  Freemantle,  Hill,  Dalton,  &c. 

"  EXTRACTS  OF  PROPHECY,"  collected  from  Burg,  Maitland, 
Madden,  Simon,  Campbell,  Dodsworth,  Fry,  Erskine, 
Keble,  &c.  1835.  Very  good. 

CARLYLE,  DR.  J.  "Latter-day  Pamphlets."  "First  and 
Second  Advent." 

"WARD,  H.  D.     "History  and  Doctrine  of  the  Millennium." 
LORD,  KEV.  ELIAZER.  "Messiah  in  Moses  and  the  Prophets." 

THOMAS,  J.,  M.D.  "Etpis  Israel:  an  Exposition  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  icith  reference  to  the  End  of  Time  and 
the  Age  to  come."  1851.  Somewhat  dogmatical,  but 
furnishing  some  useful  thoughts. 

BUCK,  REV.  D.  D.  "An  Original  Harmony  and  Exposition 
of  the  2-ith  chapter  of  Matthcic,  and  the  Parallel  Pas- 
sages in  Marl-  and  Luke  ;  comprising  a  Review  of  Com- 
mon Figurative  Theories  of  Interpretation,"  &c.  8vo, 
1853.  An  unusually  clear  and  powerful  book,  richly 
rewarding  the  reader. 

KEITH,  DR.  ALEXANDER.  "Harmony  of  Prophecy;  or,  Scrip- 
tural Illustrations  of  the  Apocalypse;"  "TJie  Land  of 
Israel,  according  to  the  Covenant;"  "Signs  of  the 
Times"  &c. 

SHIMEAL,  REV.  R,  C.   "Age  of  the  World,"  &c.     1842. 

LlLLIE,  DR.  J.    "The  Perpetuity  of  the  Earth." 
V 


322  APPENDIX. 

HILL,  II.  F.    "The  World  to  Come;   or,  the  Saints'  Inherit 
ance." 

HENSHAW,  BISHOP  J.  P.  K.  "Lectures  on  the  Second  Ad- 
vent." 1842. 

NOLAN,  DR.  F.    "  Chronological  Prophecies."     1837. 
HAMILTON,  DR.  J.     "Harp  on  the  Willows." 

SCHMUCKER,  DR.  J.  G.  "Exposition  of  the  Revelation  of  St. 
John."  2  vols.  1821.  Very  fanciful  in  some  of  his 
principles  of  interpretation,  but  learned,  modest,  and 
presenting  many  thoughts  worthy  of  attention. 

GUMMING,  DR.  JOHN.  "Lectures  on  the  Apocalypse;"  "Lec- 
tures on  Daniel;"  "The  End;"  "The  Signs  of  the 
Times,"  &c.  A  prolific  author ;  very  eloquent  and  im- 
pressive, but  not  always  consistent  with  himself. 

WINTHROP,  REV.  EDWARD.  "Lectures  on  the  Second  Advent." 
1843.  "Premium  Essay  on  Prophetic  Symbols."  1854. 

DUFFIELD,  DR.  G.    "Dissertations  on  the  Prophecies."    Good. 
"  SHADOWS  OP  THE  NEW  CREATION."    By  "W.  S. 
WOODWARD,  H.     Sermons  and  Essays  on  the  Advent. 
GEORGE,  Duke  of  Manchester.     "  The  Finished  Mystery." 
WHITE,  H.    "Practical  Reflections  on  the  Second  Advent." 


APPENDIX.  J523 

"  GLIMPSES  OF  MESSIAH'S  GLORY."  By  twelve  Clergymen 
of  the  Church  of  England.  1848.  Plain,  serious  aud 
practical. 

IMBRIE,  REV.  C.  K.  « The  Kingdom  of  God."  1849.  Can- 
did and  forcible. 

CARLETON,  REV.  H.  "Analysis  oftlie  Twenty-fourth  of  Mat- 
thew r  1851.  Valuable. 

LEWIS,  SETH,  Esq.  "The  Restoration  of  the  Jews,  with  the 
Political  Destiny  of  the  Nations  of  the  Earth."  1851. 
A  writer  of  strong  sense,  candor,  and  reverence  for  God's 
word. 

BRYANT,  REV.  ALFRED.  "Millcnarian  Vieics,  icith  Reasons 
for  receiving  them"  1852.  "Excellently  adapted  to 
remove  misconception,  disarm  prejudice  and  conciliate 
faith,"  says  Lord. 

LORD,  DR.  NATHAN.  "  The  Millennium :  an  Essay."  1854. 
Calm,  comprehensive  and  impressive. 

HARKNESS,  REV.  J.  "Messiah's  Throne  and  Kingdom." 
1855. 

JANEWAY,  DR.  J.  J.   "Hope  for  the  Jews."     1853. 

TAYLOR,  REV.  D.  T.  "The  Voice  of  the  Cliurch  on  the  Com- 
ing and  Kingdom  of  the  Redeemer  ;  or,  a  History  of  the 
Doctrine  of  the  Reign  of  Christ  on  Earth."  1856.  A 
work  of  much  useful  information. 


324  APPENDIX. 

"  TUB  TIME  OP  THE  END  :  a  Prophetic  Period,  developing, 
as  predicted,  an  Increase  of  Knowledge  respecting  the 
Prophecies  and  Periods  that  foretell  the  End;  Illus- 
trated by  the  History  of  Prophetic  Interpretation,  the 
Expectation  of  the  Church,  &c.  Also,  Our  Present 
Position  in  the  Prophetic  Calendar,  by  Elliott ;  Lectures 
on  the  Nature  and  Nearness  of  the  Advent,  by  Gum- 
ming; Lectures  on  the  New  Heavens  and  New  Earth, 
by  Dr.  Chalmers,  Dr.  Hitchcock,  and  John  Wesley ;  and 
The  Testimony  of  more  than  one  hundred  Witnesses 
against  the  modern  Whitbyan  Theory  of  a  Millennium 
before  the  Advent."  1856,  12mo.  "  The  Theological 
and  Literary  Journal"  says,  "  The  work  presents  a 
group  of  highly-interesting  themes  that  are  now  en- 
gaging the  attention  of  the  people  of  God,  and  will 
well  repay  readers  of  all  classes  for  a  perusal." 

Here  are  more  than  one  hundred  works  from  which  selec- 
tions can  be  made,  furnishing  a  millenarian  library  of  no 
mean  dimensions.  May  the  Lord  direct  his  people  to  the 
truth.  Amen. 


THE  END. 


CATALOGUE 

OF 

STANDARD    LUTHERAN 

AND 

VALUABLE  MISCELLANEOUS  WORKS, 

PUBLISHED,  AND  OFFERED  FOR  RALB  BT 

T.    NEWTON    KURTZ, 

PUBLISHER,  BOOKSELLER  AND  STATIONER, 

NO.  151  WEST  PRATT  STREET,  BALTIMORE,  MD. 


Orders  for  any  of  the  Books  in  the  following  Catalogue  (which 
can  be  sent  per  mail  at  the  rate  of  one  cent  per  oz.  if  pre-paid), 
or  for  anything  else  in  the  BOOK  and  STATIONERY  line,  will  be 
promptly  attended  to  if  addressed  to  T.  NEWTON  KURTZ, 
No.  151  PRATT  STREET,  BALTIMORE,  MD. 

THE  GENERAL  SYNOD'S 
STANDARD    ENGLISH    LITURGY, 

for  the  use  of  Evangelical  Lutheran  Churches  in  the  United  States; 
two  editions — 12mo.  and  octavo. 

The  new  GERMAN  LITURGY  (prepared  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Synod),  12mo.  and  large  8vo.  bound  in  the  various  styles,  also  for 
sale  at  the  publisher's  prices. 


ENGLISH    LUTHERAN    HYMN-BOOKS. 

GENERAL  SYNOD'S  STANDARD  EDITIONS— Of  which  there  are 
four  editions  published,  viz .: 

48mo.  or  miniature  edition, 

24mo.  "  medium         " 

12mo.  "  large  " 

8vo.  ".  pulpit  " 

Each  size  is  bound  in  various  styles,  and  sold  entirely  for  cash. 

GERMAN    LUTHERAN    HYMN-BOOKS. 

EVANG.  LIEDER-SAMMLUNG— General  Synod's  standard  edition. 
DEUTCHES  GESANGBUCH— Pennsylvania  Synod's  edition. 
GEMEINSCHAFTLICHES  GESANGBUCH— New  York  or  Union 
edition. 

ENGLISH    LUTHERAN    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
HYMN-BOOK. 

With  a  view  to  the  more  extensive  use  of  this  Hymn-Book  in  our 
Sunday-Schools,  the  prices  have  been  much  reduced,  and  they  are 
now  offered  at  a  very  small  advance  on  the  prime  cost ;  and  as  there 
is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  used  altogether  in  our  Sunday- 
Schools  (for  the  book  is  as  well  adapted  for  the  purpose  as  any  pub- 
lished in  the  country),  we  trust  our  Superintendents  and  Teachers 
will  make  an  effort  to  introduce  it  generally. 

It  is  bound  in  various  styles. 

GERMAN    LUTHERAN    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
HYMN-BOOK. 

Authorized  to  be  published  by  the  Penn.  Synod — 32mo.,  half  roan. 

ENGLISH  LUTHERAN  CATECHISMS. 

LUTHER'S  SMALLER  CATECHISM— Gen.  Synod's  standard  edition. 

LUTHER'S  SHORTER  CATECHISM— Illustrated  by  additional 
Questions  and  Answers,  by  J.  G.  Morris,  D.D.,  18mo.,  half  sheep. 

THE  SERIAL  CATECHISM,  or  Progressive  (Religious)  Instructor 
for  Children,  prepared  with  a  special  view  to  Infant  and  Sunday- 
Schools,  in  two  numbers.  They  can  be  had  separately  or  bound 
together. 

A  SHORT  EXPLANATION  OF  LUTHER'S  SMALLER  GATE 
CHISM,  with  Scripture  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  prepared  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Mann,  and  published  by  the  authority  of  the  Synod  of  Penn- 


3 

sylvania,  for  the   use  of  Families,   Catechumens,  and  Sunday- 
Schools — 18mo.,  half  morocco. 

GERMAN   LUTHERAN    CATECHISMS. 

DR.  LUTHER'S  KLEINER  CATECHISMUS— West  Pennsylvania 
Synod's  new  and  improved  edition,  containing  the  Formula  of 
Discipline,  Augsburg  Confession,  &c.  18mo.,  half  sheep. 

KURZE  ERKLARUXG  DES  KLEINEN  KATECHISMUS.  Dr. 
Martin  Luther's,  mil  Beygefugten  Bibelstellen  Zum  Gebrauche. 
In  Familien,  fur  Confirmanden-Unterricht,  Katechisation,  und 
Sonntagsschulen.  Herausgegeben  mil  Kirchlicher  Genehmigung. 
This  is  the  Explanation  of  Luther's  Smaller  Catechism,  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Mann,  in  German,  and  authorized  to  be  published  by  the  Penn- 
sylvania Synod.  18mo.  half  roan. 

LUTHERAN   PRAYER-BOOK. 

For  the  use  of  Families  and  Individuals,  with  In- 
troductory Remarks  on  Family  Prayer,  together 
with  a  selection  of  176  HYMNS,  with  Music  or 
Tunes  adapted  to  them.  By  B.  KURTZ,  D.D. 
/Second  edition,  revised,  enlarged,  and  much  im- 
proved. 

"This  Prayer-Book  has  been  prepared  mainly  for  the  English 
portion  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  yet  it  is  believed  nothing  will  be 
found  in  it  to  prevent  its  free  use  in  any  Protestant  Christian  family. 
In  the  German  language  we  are  abundantly  supplied  with  such  helps; 
but  in  English,  a  general  and  complete  Prayer  Book,  adapted  to 
daily  devotion,  to  special  occasion?,  and  to  every  emergency,  has 
thus  far  remained  a  desideratum,  which  it  has  been  our  aim  to 
supply.  It  is,  therefore,  hoped  that  the  Lutheran  Church  especially 
will  encourage  this  enterprise." — Extract  from  the  Author's  Preface. 

The  rapid  sale  of  the  first  edition  (nearly  4000  copies)  of  this  work, 
and  the  favor  with  which  it  has  been  received  by  the  Church  gene- 
rally, has  induced  the  publisher  to  have  it  thoroughly  revised,  en- 
larged, and  greatly  improved,  and  it  is  now  believed  to  be  equal,  and 
in  some  respects  superior  to  any  similar  work  published  in  the 
English  language. 

It  is  a  large  duodecimo  volume,  of  nearly  600  pages,  printed  on 
large,  clear  type,  and  bound  in  various  styles.  The  following  is  a 
synopsis  of  the  contents : 


4 

A  Valuable  Table  to  guide  in  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures  system- 
atically ;  and  also  References  to  select  portions  of  the  same. 

Introduction — Prayer  in  all  its  Forms. 

Morning  and  Evening  Prayers,  with  Scripture  (reading)  Lessons 
for  every  day  for  eight  weeks. 

Prayers  for  Particular  Days. 

Occasional  and  Special  Prayers  and  Thanksgivings. 

Prayers  before  and  after  Meals. 

Prayers  for  Children. 

Prayers  for  Little  Children,  in  prose  and  verse. 

Form  for  opening  Sunday- Schools,  with  Prayers  annexed. 

A  selection  of  176  HYMNS,  with  61  popular  TUNES  adapted  to 
them. 

WHY  ARE  YOU  A  LUTHERAN?  or  a  Series  of  Dissertations, 
explanatory  of  the  Doctrines,  Government,  Discipline,  Liturgical 
Economy,  Distinctive  Traits,  &c.,  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  in  the  United  States.  By  B.  Kurtz,  D.D.,  with  an  Intro- 
duction by  John  G.  Morris,  D.D.  12mo. 

"  We  believe  that  the  extensive  circulation  and  perusal  of  this  pub- 
lication (Why  are  You  a  Lutheran?}  among  our  people,  will  be  the 
means  of  rectifying  many  mistakes,  and  diffusing  correct  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  Lutheranism;  and  that  its  general  distribution  will 
also  tend  to  the  prevention  and  removal  of  unfounded  prejudices  in 
the  case  of  many  candid  and  serious  persons  of  other  denominations, 
who  are  willing  to  investigate  before  they  censure  or  condemn.''' 

The  above  is  an  extract  from  a  Recommendation  signed  by  many 
of  our  most  eminent  ministers,  such  as  Dr.  S.  S.  Schmucker,  Dr. 
Reynolds.  Dr.  Krauth,  Dr.  Bachman,  Dr.  Morris,  Dr.  H.  N.  Pohlman, 
Dr.  S.  W.  Harkey.  the  late  Dr.  E.  Keller,  Revs.  P.  Rizer,  W.  A. 
Passavant,  J.  Z.  Senderling.  S.  R.  Boyer,  F.  R.  Anspach,  John  Heck, 
A.  Babb,  A.  H.  Loch  man,  &c.  It  is  bound  in  various  styles,  and 
sold  at  reduced  prices. 

AMERICAN  LUTHERANISM  VINDICATED!  or  an  Impartial 
Examination  of  the  Lutheran  Symbols,  on  certain  Disputed 
Topics,  including  a  Reply  to  Rev.  W.  J.  Mann's  "Plea  for  the 
Augsburg  Confession,"  published  by  the  "Lutheran  Board  of  Pub- 
lication." By  S.  S.  Schmucker,  D.D. — 12mo.  cloth, 

ELEMENTS  OF  POPULAR  THEOLOGY— With  special  reference 
to  the  Doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  as  avowed  before  the  Diet  at 
Augsburg,  in  MDXXX,  by  S.  S.  Schmucker,  D.D.— 8vo.  sheep. 

The  same  work — abridged,  and  adapted  particularly  to  use  in  the 
Lutheran  Church.  12mo.,  cloth. 

THE  AMERICAN  LUTHERAN  CHURCH— Historically,  Doctri- 
nally,  and  Practically  delineated  in  several  occasional  Discourses, 
by  S.  S.  Schmucker,  D.D. — 12mo.,  cloth. 


THE  LUTHERAN  MANUAL  ON  SCRIPTURAL  PRINCIPLES; 
or,  The  Augsburg  Confession  illustrated  and  sustained,  chiefly  by 
Scripture  proofs,  and  extracts  from  Standard  Lutheran  Theologians 
of  Europe  and  America:  together  with  the  Formula  of  Govern- 
ment and  Discipline  adopted~by  the  General  Synod  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States,  by  S.  S.  Schmucker, 
D.D.—  12mo.,  cloth. 

SCHMUCKER  ON  THE  REFORMATION— 18mo.,  cloth. 
SCHMUCKER'S  PORTRAITURE  OF  LUTHERANISM— 18mo. 

DEFINITE  PLATFORM— Doctrinal  and  Disciplinarian,  for  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  District  Synods,  constructed  in  accordance  with 
the  Principles  of  the  General  Synod. — thin  12mo. 

TO  ROME  AND  BACK  AGAIN,  OR  THE  TWO  PROSELYTES. 
By  J.  G.  Morris,  D.D. — 12mo.,  cloth. 

THE  BLIND  GIRL  OF  WITTENBERG;  A  Life-Picture  of  the 
Times  of  Luther  and  the  Reformation.  From  the  German,  by 
J.  G.  Morris,  D.D.  12mo.,  cloth. 

THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  ARNDT— Author  of  the  Work  on  "True 
Christianity."  By  John  G.  Morris,  D.D.  18mo.,  cloth,  with  a 
correct  portrait  of  ARNDT. 

This  work  is  a  biography  of  one  of  the  ablest  men  and  most  dis- 
tinguished servants  of  God  the  world  ever  produced,  and  is  now 
offered  for  the  first  time  in  the  English  language.  It  should  be  read 
by  every  Lutheran  and  Christian  in  the  land. 

THE  CATECHUMEN'S  AND  COMMUNICANT'S  COMPANION. 
For  the  use  of  young  persons  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  receiving 
instruction  preparatory  to  Confirmation  and  the  Lord's  Supper, 
•with  forms  of  Prayer  for  one  week,  and  special  cases  and  occa- 
sions. By  J.  G.  Morris,  D.D.  Third  edition,  revised  and  corrected, 
18mo.,  cloth. 

EXPOSITION  OF  THE  GOSPELS— Luke  and  John— Designed  for 
the  use  of  Families,  Bible  Classes,  and  Sunday  Schools. — By  Rev. 
J.  G.  Morris,  D.D.  and  Rev.  Charles  A.  Smith,  D.D.,  12mo.  cloth. 

THE  CHARACTER  AND  VALUE  OF  AN  EVANGELICAL 
MINISTRY,  and  the  Duty  of  the  Church  in  Regard  to  it.  By  Rev. 
Simeon  VV.  Harkey,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Theology  in  Illinois  Stale 
University — I8mo.  cloth. 

"  The  writer  of  this  work  believes  that  the  greatest  want,  as  well 
as  the  greatest  hope  and  the  greatest  blessing  of  this  country  and  of 
the  world,  is  a  faithful  and  well-qualified  Evangelical  Ministry.  So 
deeply  is  he  convinced  of  this,  that  he  has  solemnly  consecrated  the 


remainder  of  his  life,  be  it  worth  much  or  little,  to  the  great  work  of 

increasing  the  number  of  true  ministers  of  Christ My 

object  lias  been  to  do  good — to  stir  up  '  the  pure  minds  of  ministers 
and  people  by  way  of  remembrance,'  and  to  come  to  the  help  of  rny 
brethren  who  are  bearing  'the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day'  in  the 
Master's  vineyard. 

"  I  would  commend  the  book  to  the  attention  of  all  Christians,  and 
especially  to  my  beloved  brethren  in  the  ministry,  and  hope  that  they 
may  find  great  benefit  by  circulating  it  freely  among  the  people  of 
their  churches." — Extract  from  the  Author's  Preface. 

LECTURES  ON  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE  TO 
THE  HEBREWS— By  Rev.  J.  A.  Seiss,  A.M.,  8vo.  This  is  a 
valuable  work,  highly  recommended  by  several  of  our  Synods  and 
most  eminent  clergymen.  There  are  but  few  left. 

THE  BAPTIST  SYSTEM  EXAMINED,  The  Chnrch  Vindicated,  and 
Sectarianism  Rebuked.  A  Review  of  "  Fuller  on  Baptism  and  the 
Terms  of  Communion."  By  Fedelis  Scrutator — thick  18mo.  cloth. 

LIFE  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER— Being  a  comprehensive,  though  con- 
densed and  correct  History  of  the  Life  and  stupendous  achieve- 
ments of  the  Great  Reformer.  By  Rev.  R.  Weiser,  I2mo.  cloth — 
new  edition,  revised  and  corrected.  The  same  work,  illustrated 
with  fifteen  erigiavings,  representing  the  most  important  events  in 
Luther's  life  and  history. 

THE  LIFE  OF  LUTHER— With  Special  Reference  to  its  Earlier 
Periods,  and  the  opening  Scenes  of  the  Reformation.  By  Barnas 
Sears,  D.D.  This  is  an  original  work  :  with  three  fine  steel  arid 
twenty-three  wood  engravings,  all  finished  in  the  highest  style  of 
the  art — 12mo.  cloth. 

A  DEFENCE  OF  LUTHER  AND  THE  REFORMATION.  By 
John  Bachmari,  D.D.,LL.D..  against  the  Charges  of  John  Bellinger, 
M.D.,  and  others:  to  which  are  appended  various  Communications 
of  other  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic  writers  who  engaged  in 
the  controversy.  Large  12mo.  cloth. 

REGINA,  OR  THE  LITTLE  GERMAN   CAPTIVE.     By  Rev.   R. 

Weiser,  Professor  in  Central  College  of  Iowa,  Fort  Des  Moines. 

Thick  I8mo.,  cloth. 

This  is  an  intensely  interesting  narrative  of  a  little  German  girl,  who 
was  stolen  by  the  Indians,  and  retained  in  captivity  nine  years,  and 
finally  restored  to  her  mother.  It  should  be  in  the  library  of  every 
Christian  family  and  Sunday  School  in  the  land.  It  is  illustrated  with 
several  beautiful  and  appropriate  engravings. 

MEMOIR  OF  REV.  WALTER  GUXN,  late  Missionary  in  India, 
from  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States,  by  G. 
A.  Lintner,  D.D.,  18mo.  cloth. 


A  MANUAL  OF  CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM:  INFANT  BAPTISM, 

AND  THE  MODE— By  Rev.  Thomas  Lape,  A.M.     Sixth  edition ; 

corrected  and  enlarged — 18mo. 
This  is  a  brief,  yet  comprehensive  work  in  favor  of  Infant  Baptism, 

and  presents  the  whole  controversy  in  so  simple  a  form  and  clear 

a  light,  that  all  who  read  can  understand  it. 

DISCIPLINE,  ARTICLES  OF  FAITH,  AND  SYNODICAL  CON- 
STITUTION,  AS  ADOPTED  BY  THE  EVANGELICAL  LU- 
THERAN SYNOD  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  and  adjacent  Slates, 
to  which  is  added  a  Liturgy,  and  some  forms  of  Prayer  for  families 
and  individuals — 12mo.  cloth. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  SALZBURGERS  AND  THEIR  DESCENDANTS. 
By  Rev.  P.  A.  Strobel — 12mo.  cloth. 

MANUAL  OF  SACRED  HISTORY— A  guide  to  the  understanding 
ot  the  Divine  Plan  of  Salvation,  according  to  its  Historical  Develop- 
ment. By  John  Henry  Kurtz,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Church  History  in 
the  University  of  Dorpat.  etc.  Translated  from  the  sixth  German 
rlilion,  by  Rev.  Prof.  Charles  F.  SchaefTer,  D.D. — Large  12mo. 

TH\  CHILDREN  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.   By  Rev.  Dr.  Stork. 

THE^EPULCHRES  OF  OUR  DEPARTED.  By  Rev.  F.  R.  An- 
spacV,  A.M. — 12mo.  cloth. 

THE  LIFE  OF  PHILIP  MELANCTHON,  the  Friend  and  Companion 
of  Lutner,  according  to  his  Inner  and  Outer  Life.  Translated  from 
the  Go-man  of  Charles  Frederick  Ledderhose,  by  the  Rev.  G.  F. 
Krotel.  of  Lancaster,  Pa.,  with  a  portrait  of  Melancthon — 12mo. 

MEMOIR  OF  THE  LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  HENRY  MELCHOIR 
MUHLENBERG,  D.D.,  Patriarch  of  the  Evang.  Luth.  Church  in 
America.  By  M.  L.  Stoever,  A.M.,  Professor  in  Penn.  College. 
12rno.,  cloth. 

LUTHER'S  CHRISTMAS  TREE,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Stork,— illustrated 
with  six  large  engravings,  representing  important  events  in  the 
life  and  times  of  Luther.  Small  4to.,  paper. 

STARCK'S  PRAYER-BOOK— In  German  and  English— 12mo. 

SCHMUCKER-S  (Dr.  J.  G.)  EXPLANATION  OF  THE  REVELA- 
TION OF  ST.  JOHN— In  English  and  German— 12mo,  with  a 
portrait  of  the  author.  ^"  There  are  butane  left  of  this  work. 

JOHANN  ARNDT'S  WAHRES  CHRISTENTHUM— ARNDTS 
TRUE  CHRISTIANITY— In  German  and  English,  large  8vo.  shp. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  BOOK  OF  CONCORD,  or  Symbolical  Books  of 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  comprising  the  Three  Chief 


Symbols,  the  unaltered  Augsburg  Confession,  the  Apology,  the 
Smalcald  Articles,  Luther's  Smaller  and  Larger  Catechisms,  the 
Formula  of  Concord,  and  an  Appendix.  To  which  is  prefixed  an 
Historical  Introduction.  Second  edition,  carefully  revised  by  Rev. 
Drs.  C.  P.  Krauth,  W.  M.  Reynolds,  J.  G.  Morris,  C.  F.  Schaeffer, 
and  Rev.  W.  F.  Lehman.  Translated  from  the  German — large 
8vo.,  sheep. 

THE  UNALTERED  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION,  and  the  Three 
Chief  Symbols  of  the  Christian  Church,  with  Historical  Intro- 
ductions and  Critical  and  Explanatory  Notes.  By  Christian  Hein- 
rich  Schott ;  carefully  translated  from  the  German.  12mo.,  cloth. 

THEOLOGICAL  SKETCH  BOOK,  or  Skeletons  of  Sermons— 2  vots. 
8vo..  half  cloth. 

HAZELIUS'  CHURCH  HISTORY— 12mo. 

LUTHER'S  COMMENTARY  on  Saint  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Galatians, 
to  which  is  prefixed  Tischer's  Life  of  Luther:  also  a  Sketch  of  the 
Life  of  Zuingle,  in  English  and  German — large  8vo.,  sheep. 

SELECT  TREATISES  OF  MARTIN  LUTHER,  with  the  Original 
German,  by  Rev.  B.  Sears.  12mo.,  cloth. 

THE  CANTICA  SACRA;  a  Collection  of  Church  Music, embracing, 
besides  some  new  pieces,  a  choice  selection  of  German  and  English 
Chorals,  Set  Pieces,  Chants,  &c.,  from  the  best  European  and 
American  authors,  adapted  to  the  various  metres  in  use,  with  the 
Text  in  German  and  English,  by  Rev.  J.  J.  Fast. 

ENGLISH  LUTHERAN  ALMANAC— Containingvaluable  statistical 
and  general  information  of  the  Church  ;  also  a  complete  list  of  all 
the  Lutheran  Ministers  in  the  United  States,  with  their  Post-Office 
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BLANK  CERTIFICATES  of  Ordination,  Licensure,  Confirmation 
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new  and  very  neat. 


STANDARD  THEOLOGICAL 


VALUABLE  MISCELLANEOUS  BOOKS. 


THE  COMPLETE  WORKS  OF  JAMES  ARMLMUS,  D.D.,  formerly 
Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  University  of  Leyclen.  Translated  from 
the  Latin,  \viih  a  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  the  Author. 
It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  only  two  of  the  three  vols.  of 
the  Works  of  Arminius  have  ever  been  published  in  the  English 
language,  viz. :  The  edition  published  in  1825,  by  James  Nichols, 
London — the  third  volume  either  never  having  been  translated,  or  if 
it  was,  never  republished;  it  remains  for  an  American  translator  to 
render  the  third  volume  into  English,  and  for  an  American  publishing 
house  to  first  offer,  in  the  English  tongue,  the  complete  Works  of  the 
Great  Expounder  of  the  Arminian  System.  The  competency  of  the 
American  translator  for  his  task  is  vouched  for  by  those  who  know 
him  best,  and  who  are  well  and  favorably  known  by  the  literary  and 
religious  public.  The  works  of  Arminius  make  three  handsome 
octavo  vols.  of  about  600  pages  each,  well  printed  on  fair  type,  bound 
in  cloth. 

THE  COMPREHENSIVE  COMMENTARY  ON  THE  BIBLE— 
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mentary; Practical  Observations  of  Kev.  Thomas  Scolt,  D.D..  with 
extensive  Explanatory,  Critical,  and  Philological  Notes,  selected 
from  Scott,  Doddridge,  Gill.  Adam  Clark.  Patrick,  Poole,  Lowth, 
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designed  to  be  a  Digest  and  combination  of  the  advantages  of  the 
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Scott,  Doddridge,  &c.  In  six  volumes,  super  royal  octavo,  bound 
in  full,  strong  sheep. 

CLARKE'S  COMPLETE  COMMENTARY  OiN  THE  OLD  AND 
NEW  TESTAMENT— 4  vols.  super  royal  8vo.,  in  full  strong  sheep. 


10 

CLARKE'S  COMMENTARY  ON  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT— 2 

vols.  super  royal  8vo.,  full  sheep. 

SIMMON'S  SCRIPTURE  MANUAL,  Alphabetically  and  systema- 
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This  is  a  truly  valuable  work. 

MACKNIGHT  ON  THE  EPISTLES,  with  a  Commentary  and  Notes; 
to  which  is  added  a  History  of  t fie  Apostle  Paul. 

CHRIST'S  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.— A  beautiful  little  minia- 
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THE  HISTORY,  DOCTRINE,  GOVERNMENT  AND  STATISTICS 
OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES,  with  a  preliminary  sketch  of  Judaism,  Paganism,  and 
Mohammedanism,  by  Joseph  Belcher,  D.D.  Embellished  with 
nearly  200  fine  engravings,  large  8vo.  roan,  embossed. 

THE  COMPLETE  WORKS  OF  REV.  JOHN  CUMMING,  D.D.,  25 
vols.  I2mo. 

BARNES'  NOTES  ON  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT,  11  vols.  12mo. 
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LIVES  AND  TIMES  of  the  Most  Distinguished  CHRISTIAN 
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GAILLARD'S  CHURCH  HISTORY— 8vo.  stiff  paper. 

GATHERED  TREASURES  FROM  THE  MINES  OF  LITERATURE ; 
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LOOKING-GLASS;  or,  Intellectual  Mirror— A  Juvenile  Book,  with 
64  engravings,  18mo.,  cloth. 

DODDRIDGE'S  RISE  AND  PROGRESS  OF  RELIGION  IN  THE 
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KEMPIS'  CHRISTIAN'S  PATTERN— 32mo.,  cloth. 
MASON  ON  SELF-KNOWLEDGE— 32mo.,  cloth. 

MRS.  ROWE'S  DEVOTIONAL  EXERCISES  OF  THE  HEART.— 
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YOUNG  AMERICAN;  or,  Book  of  Government  and  Law,  by  Peter 
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II 

JESUS'  WITNESSES,  or  the  "Great  Salvation  Exemplified."   12mo. 

THE  COMPLETE  WORKS  OF  THOMAS  DICK,  LL.D.  Illustrated 
with  numerous  engravings,  2  vols.,  8vo.,  sheep. 

PLUTARCH'S  LIVES— 8vo.,  sheep.     A  good  editiou. 
THE  SPECTATOR— by  Addison,  8vo.,  sheep. 
ROLLIN'S  ANCIENT  HISTORY— 2  vols.,  8vo.,  sheep. 

THE  WRITINGS  OF  REV.  LORENZO  DOW,  containing  his  Expe- 
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BOOK-KEEPING  BY  SINGLE  AND  DOUBLE  ENTRY. 

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TO 

SUPERINTENDENTS  AND  TEACHERS 

OF 

SUNDAY    SCHOOLS. 


The  undersigned  respectfully  announces  that  he  is  Agent  for  the 
sale  of  the  publications  of  the 

MASSACHUSETTS    SABBATH    SCHOOL    SOCIETY. 

And  is  prepared  to  furnish  them  at  the  lowest  catalogue  prices. 

These  publications  are  entirely  different  from  those  published  by  any 
other  Sunday  School  Society,  and  are  now  so  well  and  favorablj 
known  throughout  the  country,  that  no  special  recommendation  is 
deemed  necessary. 

The  whole  number  of  bound  volumes  of  this  Society  is  about  700. 
varying  in  price  from  7  cents  to  $1.  They  publish  20  difforeni 
volumes  of  Scripture  Question  Books  for  Sabbath  Schools,  and  a  large 
number  of  Catechisms  for  Infant  Schools. 

The  Society  has  put  up  six  Selected  Libraries,  viz. : 

LITTLE  BOY'S  AND  GIRL'S  LIBRARY,       25  vols.  for  .          $3  (1C 


THE  INFANT'S  LIBRARY,  40  vols.  for 

THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  LIBRARY,  100  vols.  for 

THE  FAMILY  LIBRARY,  25  vols.  for 

THE  CHILDREN'S  LIBRARY,  100  vols.  for 


5  OC 
10  OC 
10  OC 
18  OC 
30  OC 


THE  YOUTH'S  LIBRARY,  150  vols.  for 

The  prices  of  these  Sabbath  School  publications  are  fully  as  low. 
if  not  lower,  than  any  other  similar  Books  published  in  the  country 
and  are  regarded  as  unexceptionable  on  the  score  of  sectarianism. 

A  full  assortment  will  always  be  kept  on  hand  and  for  sale  by  the 
undersigned.  Terms  cash. 

GF"  Catalogues,  with  the  price  annexed  to  each  book,  will  be  fur- 
nished gratis,  when  applied  for. 

Also,  a  large  assortment  of  SCHOOL  AND  CLASSICAI 
BOOKS,  Pulpit  and  Family  BIBLES,  Books  of  Common  (Epis- 
copal) Prayer,  Hymn  Books  of  the  various  Denominations,  Church 
Music  Books,  PAPER,  AND  STATIONERY  generally,  for  sale 

at  WHOLESALE  AND  RETAIL  by 

T.  NEWTON  KURTZ, 

PUBLISHER,  BOOKSELLER,  AND  STATIONER, 

No.  151  West  Pratt  Street,  Baltimore,  Md. 


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Return  this  material  to  the  library 

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OCT 


